Earlier this month, California-based biotech company BridgeBio Pharma announced that it will partner with The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in the development of a new biopharmaceutical firm referred to as Navire Pharma.
In addition to providing $30 million of funds and a team of senior business managers to the project’s development, BridgeBio Pharma will be contributing pharmaceutical and biotechnology executives to the Navire team. These valuable contributions in conjunction with the UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center’s intellectual property and its oncology drug development team are predictive of the immense range of potential for great breakthroughs to come out of this monumental partnership!
Neil Kumar, CEO of BridgeBio explains the implications of this alliance, “Navire combines M.D. Anderson’s clinicians and drug development scientists with our veteran biotechnology team to create a focused organization to develop SHP2-targeted therapies...Together, we aim to bring these novel treatments to patients at the soonest possible opportunity."
Further, the announcement of this project comes shortly after the $10.5 million donation that the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston received in June that will be used to fund the Institution’s competitive research awards, student fellowships and Dr. John J. Kopchick Research Symposium.
As the nation of Israel has also contributed to breakthroughs in biomedicine and in cancer research over the past years, future medical partnerships such as the interstate one in this case between MD Anderson and BridgeBio should perhaps consider expanding in the pursuance of international collaboration in the fight against cancer.
Story Sources:
Press Release from Bridge Bio: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/md-anderson-and-bridgebio-pharma-launch-navire-pharma-to-develop-targeted-therapy-for-patients-with-difficult-to-treat-cancer-300530297.html?tc=eml_cleartime
Biotech Co Provides $30 million (quote from article): https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/10/04/biotech-co-provides-30m-to-start-new.html
Further Details of June $10.5 million Donation: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/06/23/m-d-anderson-uthealth-grad-school-gets-10-5m.html