Thursday, December 24, 2020
UC San Francisco (UCSF) and BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. announced a partnership to drive the advancement of academic innovations in genetically driven diseases into potential therapeutics for patients.
“The BridgeBio team is developing close relationships with our investigators at UCSF with the mission of bringing potential therapies into the clinic quickly, where they have the opportunity to help patients in need,” said Barry Selick, Ph.D., UCSF vice chancellor for business development, innovation and partnerships and director of the Office of Innovation Ventures. “We are excited about this partnership and the opportunities it may create for the development of new medicines.”
“UCSF is a global leader in scientific innovation and genetic disease research, and we are proud to establish a formal, long-term relationship with the university as we work to help patients as quickly and safely as possible,” said BridgeBio CEO and founder Neil Kumar, Ph.D.
Following a six-month pilot collaboration, the new agreement establishes a three-year alliance with BridgeBio with the goal of identifying early translational research to accelerate into clinical development and potential commercialization. The partnership is designed to foster close collaboration between the two entities that build on their respective strengths, and it will initially be structured to enable Sponsored Research Agreements for certain labs working between UCSF Innovation Ventures and BridgeBio. These collaborations may lead to the creation of BridgeBio affiliate companies to support clinical development.
“Collaborative relationships between academia--which has a wealth of scientific knowledge in a range of overlooked diseases--and industry, with its robust development infrastructure, are truly valuable and can help leapfrog traditional R&D timelines,” said Frank McCormick, Ph.D., F.R.S., a professor in the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF and co-founder and chairman of oncology at BridgeBio. “I hope this partnership will allow people living with genetically driven disorders to access therapeutic options much more quickly and effectively.”
