Promising medical treatments will receive funding as the result of a new partnership announced Wednesday.
Deerfield, an investment management firm focused on healthcare, is partnering with UC San Diego to help develop new medications and drugs.
The company will invest $65 million in the university’s drug development program in the hopes of identifying treatments that could benefit from an accelerated approval process.
Often, research is stalled between the basic research and clinical trials. Through the creation of Poseidon Innovation, LLC, the university and the investment firm hope to fund that risky early-stage period when it’s difficult to get investors.
“The funding and drug development support provided can enable therapies to get to patients faster,” Sandra A. Brown, vice chancellor for research at UC San Diego stated in a written news release. “In breaking the traditional rules of discovery, we can create a greater impact and a better future for patients."
With the help of members of Deerfield, several UC San Diego executives will be on a joint steering committee to find potential treatments for investment.
Projects will have full funding to complete all studies necessary to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application.
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Paul Roben, associate vice chancellor for the Office of Innovation & Commercialization; James McKerrow, dean of Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; and Alan Saltiel, director of the Institute for Diabetes and Metabolic Health from UC San Diego will be on the committee, UC San Diego officials said Wednesday.
As part of the partnership, Deerfield may make additional capital investments through spin-off companies, according to a news release from UC San Diego.
