Pfizer, Flagship Pioneering to invest $100 mln in drug discovery

Pfizer and venture firm, Flagship Pioneering, are investing $100 million to develop 10 new potential drugs for areas, including internal medicine, oncology, infectious diseases, and immunology, the companies said on Tuesday.

Flagship and Pfizer will each invest $50 million, with Flagship’s drug discovery initiative, Pioneering Medicines, leading the exploration process.

“The partnership will take advantage of Flagship’s abilities to develop novel technologies towards bigger disease areas, Pfizer can pull things from a clinical medical phase into a commercial perspective. We’re excited about marrying that up,” said Paul Biondi, President of Flagship’s Pioneering unit.

Flagship-backed companies could receive $700 million in milestones and royalties with the launch and sale of any of the experimental treatments discovered and developed under the partnership.

Pfizer would gain access to Pioneering’s research platform and pre-clinical study resources, and would provide funding for the development of each of the selected drugs and have an option to acquire them.

“This collaboration is an exciting opportunity for Pfizer to bring deep scientific expertise and apply our development and regulatory strength to Flagship’s diverse portfolio of technology platforms,” said Pfizer Chief Scientific Officer, Mikael Dolsten in a statement.