Merck signs deal with venture capitalists
pharmafile | April 16, 2012 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Flagship Ventures, Merck
Merck has entered a deal with a US venture capital firm specialising in life sciences to help build the manufacturer’s long-term pipeline.
Merck Research Laboratories, through its own investment vehicle Merck Research Ventures Fund (MRVF), is linking up with Massachusetts-based Flagship Ventures.
Flagship specialises in therapeutics and medical technologies, putting money into promising ventures in those fields and assisting their growth: the arrangement means MRVF is now an investor in its $270 million Flagship Ventures Fund IV.
As a global pharma company which understands how medicines are developed, commercialised and regulated, Merck is an attractive bedfellow.
For its part, Flagship offers Merck access to another way into potential breakthroughs in science which could lead to the development of novel therapeutics.
MRVF is overseen by senior Merck staff who sit on committees dealing with both investment and scientific management.
“The collaboration with Flagship underscores Merck’s commitment to fully engage with the entrepreneurial ecosystem at the earliest possible stages,” said Roger Pomerantz, senior vice president, worldwide licensing and knowledge management at Merck.
“Disruptive innovations increasingly derive from collaborations that can connect market insights, development expertise and scientific/technological breakthroughs,” said Flagship’s chief executive Noubar Afeyan.
“We are very excited that Merck is joining our growing network of academic and industry partners that support our firm and community of over 35 life science ventures,” Afeyan added.
Translating scientific innovation – their own or somebody else’s – has long been the Holy Grail for the pharma industry.
But as the structure of the industry changes these sorts of ventures, along with academic tie-ups and the acquisition of start-up companies, have become attractive to companies keen to build access to early-stage experiments which could eventually become new medicines in hospital wards.
For example, GlaxoSmithKline and Janssen are among the key investors in Index Ventures’ €150 million life sciences fund intended to stimulate early-stage programmes in Europe and the US, which was announced last month.
Adam Hill
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