BUSINESS INSIGHTS
Insilico Medicine | January 18, 2022
Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, a leading innovation-driven international healthcare group in China and Insilico Medicine, an end-to-end artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery and development company, entered into a collaboration agreement to advance the discovery and development of drugs targeting a number of different targets globally through the use of AI technology.
This strategic collaboration includes an AI-driven drug discovery research and development (R&D) collaboration on four biological targets, as well as the co-development of Insilico's QPCTL program. Insilico will receive a total upfront payment of $13 million for the R&D collaboration projects and the co-development of the QPCTL program, potential milestone-based payments, and share commercialization profits from the QPCTL program. In addition, Fosun Pharma will make an equity investment in Insilico.
"We are pleased to enter into strategic collaboration with Insilico. Fosun Pharma is committed to promoting innovative R&D, and is oriented towards fulfilling unmet clinical needs and improving products' accessibility. We look forward to working with Insilico to leverage the technological and clinical development strengths of both companies, jointly improving the efficiency of innovative drug R&D, and benefiting more patients worldwide,"
Yifang Wu, Chairman and CEO of Fosun Pharma
The collaboration aims to combine Insilico's end-to-end AI-driven drug discovery platforms and Fosun Pharma's clinical development and commercial expertise to discover and develop a portfolio of novel therapeutics. Pursuant to the collaboration agreement, Insilico will take responsibility for delivering a preclinical candidate for the QPCTL program and advancing it to IND stage, after which, Fosun Pharma will then conduct human clinical studies and co-develop the candidate globally. In parallel, Fosun Pharma's R&D team will nominate four therapeutic targets to be assessed by Insilico's AI platform and R&D team, who are responsible of advancing drug candidates to IND stage.
As part of the collaboration, Fosun Pharma will secure access to Insilico's PandaOmics and Chemistry42 platforms in order to advance Fosun Pharma's internal AI-powered discovery and development efforts.
"In partnering with Fosun Pharma, a leading pharmaceutical company, we begin a new era of AI-powered end-to-end drug discovery and development as human-machine collaboration becoming the new normal in precision drug discovery and development. We previously demonstrated that AI can be used to discover novel targets and generate novel molecules that can be tested in humans in record time. Now, we are partnering with one of the leading scientific teams in the pharmaceutical industry to take this technology to the next level for the benefit of patients worldwide", said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, Founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine.
About Fosun Pharma
Founded in 1994, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is a leading innovation-driven international healthcare group in China. Fosun Pharma strategically operates businesses in the pharmaceutical and health industry, including pharmaceutical manufacturing, medical devices and medical diagnosis, and healthcare services. Through equity participation in Sinopharm Co., Ltd., Fosun Pharma's business extends to pharmaceutical distribution and retail.
About Insilico Medicine
Insilico Medicine, an end-to-end AI-driven drug discovery and development company, is connecting biology, chemistry, and clinical trials analysis using next-generation AI systems. Insilico Medicine has developed AI platforms that utilize deep generative models, reinforcement learning, transformers, and other modern machine learning techniques to discover novel targets and to design novel molecular structures with desired properties. Insilico Medicine is delivering breakthrough solutions to discover and develop innovative drugs for cancer, fibrosis, immunity, central nervous system diseases and aging-related diseases.
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PHARMACY MARKET
Edenbridge Pharmaceuticals | March 01, 2022
Edenbridge Pharmaceuticals, LLC announced that DARTISLA ODT is now available by prescription in the United States through Phil, the commercialization partner and eHub for DARTISLA ODT, as well as in retail pharmacies throughout the country. To ensure access to patients in need, Edenbridge is sponsoring the DARTISLA ODT Copay Program, which allows eligible patients to obtain the product for as little as $0 when filled through Phil or $20 when filled at other pharmacies.
“DARTISLA ODT is the first and only FDA-approved orally disintegrating tablet of glycopyrrolate, and we are excited to introduce this novel formulation of glycopyrrolate to patients and healthcare providers,” noted Daniel G. Worley Jr., Edenbridge’s Vice President of Business Development and General Counsel. “Further, Edenbridge is committed to ensuring patient access to this product, and we are pleased to be sponsoring the DARTISLA ODT Copay Program to facilitate getting DARTISLA ODT into the hands of people that need it most.”
“Phil is proud to support Edenbridge’s commitment to providing broad access to this innovative therapy by simplifying the patient onboarding process allowing affordable, fast, broad-based distribution of Dartisla ODT,”
Deepak Thomas, Founder and CEO of Phil
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Dartisla ODT for adults to reduce symptoms of a peptic ulcer as an adjunct to treatment of peptic ulcer on December 16, 2021. DARTISLA ODT is manufactured by Catalent using their proprietary Zydis® orally disintegrating tablet delivery technology to create a freeze-dried tablet that disperses almost instantly in the mouth without water.
Patients receiving the 2 mg dosage strength of another oral tablet dosage form of glycopyrrolate may be switched to the 1.7 mg dosage strength of DARTISLA ODT. DARTISLA ODT is not recommended for patients initiating treatment or receiving maintenance treatment with a lower dosage strength of another oral glycopyrrolate product (e.g., tablet strength of 1 mg). Patients who are at risk for anticholinergic toxicity due to various underlying medical conditions or who have hypersensitivity to glycopyrrolate or the inactive ingredients should not take DARTISLA ODT. Adverse reactions include blurred vision, drowsiness, decreased sweating, flushing, vomiting, constipation, dry mouth, tachycardia, and urinary retention.
About Edenbridge
Edenbridge is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing, and marketing prescription pharmaceutical products. Edenbridge’s goal is to create a broad portfolio of limited source branded and generic pharmaceutical products that will provide high-quality, affordable, and accessible alternatives in the healthcare market. Edenbridge’s approach is to work with best-in-class and like-minded industry partners to deliver its products to physicians and patients everywhere. Founded in 2008, Edenbridge launched its first product in February 2010 and has sold its commercial products through every major channel of the U.S. prescription pharmaceutical supply chain. In addition, Edenbridge has a robust product development pipeline that includes 505(b)(2) NDAs, ANDAs, and foreign filings.
About Phil
Phil is a commercialization partner for innovative life sciences companies, offering pharmaceutical manufacturers a modern alternative to traditional access, affordability and distribution options. Through its digital stakeholder experiences, patient access services, market access solutions and distribution models, pharma manufacturers can provide patients with more affordable and timely therapy access.
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RESEARCH
Parexel, Veeva Systems | May 04, 2021
Parexel and Veeva Systems announced a strategic partnership today to accelerate clinical trials through technological and process innovation. The unique partnership blends the best of each company's expertise through thousands of tests worldwide – Parexel as a pioneering CRO and Veeva as the technological innovator powering trials – to boost study performance and bring innovative therapies to patients faster.
Parexel is standardizing Veeva's suite of clinical operations software, including Veeva Vault eTMF, Vault CTMS, and Vault Study Startup, as part of the agreement to streamline operations. Parexel's clients will now have access to Veeva Vault CDMS for clinical data storage as a free product.
The companies will work together to continually develop Veeva's cloud technology and Parexel's clinical trial delivery processes based on the insights from sponsors, sites, and patients. Parexel will provide early access to and give feedback on Veeva's clinical products, such as innovations to support sites and patients in decentralized clinical trials (DCT), risk-based quality management (RBQM), and community-based sites.
"By implementing Veeva's clinical solutions, we can streamline trial procedures, increase performance, and make trial implementation and attendance simpler for promoters, locations, and patients," Parexel CEO Jamie Macdonald said. "Through this extended relationship with Veeva, we hope to have more value to customers and have a much greater effect on the lives of patients."
"We're happy to work with Parexel to fuel customer success and accelerate clinical research innovation," said Peter Gassner, Veeva's founder, and CEO. "By working together, we will help our customers get new vaccines, diagnostics, devices, and therapies to patients in need"
About Parexel
Parexel encourages the development of new innovative drugs to improve patient health. It provides services to clients in the life sciences and biopharmaceutical industries all over the world to help them transform scientific discoveries into new treatments. The therapeutic, technological, and functional ability is underpinned by a strong conviction in what we do, from decentralized clinical trials to regulatory advisory services to exploiting real-world insights. An independent council for Informa Pharma Intelligence voted Parexel the "Best Contract Research Organization" in December 2020.
About Veeva Systems
Veeva is the world's leading provider of cloud software for the life sciences industry. Veeva represents over 975 clients, ranging from the world's leading pharmaceutical firms to new biotechs, and is dedicated to innovation, product excellence, and customer success. Veeva is committed to balancing the needs of all stakeholders, including customers, employees, shareholders, and the industries it serves, as a Public Benefit Corporation.
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