Mar
22
Posted under
Biogen Idec,
Blog,
Companies,
Diagnostics,
FerroKin Biosciences,
Funding,
Medical Devices,
Medical Supply,
Pharmaceuticals,
Shire,
Startups,
Stromedix,
Universities,
Videos,
Virtual model by John Carroll
The recent news that tiny FerroKin BioSciences earned a big buyout deal with Shire ($SHPGY) has helped spotlight the growing popularity of the virtual biotech model. And that has big implications for everyone in the outsourcing industry. Like other virtuals--such as Stromedix, recently acquired by Biogen Idec ($BIIB)--FerroKin had only a handful of employees working full-time for the company. CROs, CMOs and other outsourcers created a network of support vendors that carried out much of the heavy lifting in drug research. And with some proof-of-concept data in hand, FerroKin made a tantalizing morsel for an acquirer looking to build up its pipeline without having to acquire a sizable research infrastructure it didn't need. Story
Feb
14
Posted under
Biogen Idec,
Blog,
Companies,
Diagnostics,
Funding,
George Scangos,
Medical Devices,
Medical Supply,
Pharmaceuticals,
Startups,
Stromedix,
STX-100,
Universities,
Videos by Ryan McBride
Biogen Idec ($BIIB) has scooped up a biotech very close to home. The Weston, MA-based biotech power has bought nearby Stromedix, whose lead fibrosis drug STX-100 was licensed from Biogen. The deal brings Cambridge, MA-based Stromedix's investors, which have invested $38 million in the company, $75 million upfront and up to $487.5 million in potential milestones.
The buyout comes after Biogen CEO George Scangos (pictured) remodeled the company's early- and midstage pipeline. He and his team have cut more than a dozen programs and exited oncology and cardiology drug development. With an interest in fibrosis and a need for midstage assets, Biogen's Stromedix acquisition gives it the startup's lead program in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Stromedix CEO Michael Gilman, a former EVP of R&D at Biogen, said his company is now recruiting patients for the midstage IPF trial for the antibody STX-100. In addition, he and his team will become Biogen employees and lead fibrosis research at the company.
"They know the program, they understand it, and they love it as much as we do," Gilman told FierceBiotech. "That was important for me at the end of the day to find the right home for this program and for the team. And it doesn't really get much better than Biogen."
Stromedix has patiently advanced its STX-100 program in recent years as a number of its counterparts in the fibrosis field have been gobbled up. For example, Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY) bought San Diego-based Amira Pharmaceuticals last year in part to gain its experimental drug for IPF. Prior to that deal, Gilead Sciences ($GILD) boosted its stake in the fibrosis field through its buyout of Arresto. The market for drugs against IPF, which causes a buildup of scarring in the lungs that causes breathing problems and eventual organ failure, remains pretty wide open, as there are no FDA-approved treatments.
Stromedix's venture backers--which included New Leaf Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Red Abbey Venture Partners, Atlas Venture and Frazier Healthcare Ventures--now can claim a victory in backing early-stage biotechs. Especially Atlas, where Gilman formed the startup as an entrepreneur-in-residence at the Cambridge, MA, venture firm after leaving Biogen.
"We weren't really trying to sell the [Stromedix]," Peter Barrett, a partner at Atlas, told FierceBiotech. "A lot of people were watching this and saying that it would be interesting after Phase II. But Biogen came along" with an offer that made sense.
Now Stromedix won't have to worry about raising additional funds to develop STX-100 for multiple types of fibrosis. It's still early in the development of the antibody, but if it makes it to market, Biogen could win big on its Stromedix bet.
- here's the release
Related Article:
Stromedix closing in on new venture round