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

Denali Therapeutics

18/07/2023 12:00

July 18 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Pfizer  PFE.N  and
venture capital firm Flagship Pioneering on Tuesday agreed to
invest $100 million to discover and develop 10 new potential
drugs targeting diseases with few or no treatment options.
    Flagship, which has stakes in several other biotech
companies including Moderna  MRNA.O , will invest $50 million in
the Pfizer partnership. Its drug discovery initiative, called
Pioneering Medicines, will lead the research for new drug
molecules.
    Pfizer, which would gain access to Pioneering's research
platform and pre-clinical study resources, would provide funding
for the development of each of the selected drugs and have an
option to acquire them.
    Flagship-backed companies could receive up to $700 million
in milestones and royalties upon the successful launch and sale
of any of the experimental treatments discovered and developed
under partnership.
    Drug developers such as Denali Therapeutics  DNLI.O ,
Foghorn Therapeutics  FHTX.O  and Sana Biotechnology  SANA.O 
are some of the other companies backed by Flagship. 

 (Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi
Majumdar)
 ((Bhanvi.Satija@thomsonreuters.com; Outside U.S. +91
9873062788;))