Alliance Partners

The alliance principle is the cornerstone of our strategy and is critical for an efficient execution of our mission. As we depart from a sequential supplier-customer model to an integrated partnership model, this new alliance structure will impact all steps of the value creation process, from intellectual property (IP) access to revenue generation from the exits of our technology assets.

Our partnerships are governed by specially designed legal agreements specific to the purpose of each member in the BioPontis Alliance:

Alliance University Partners

  • Columbia University
  • New York University
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Thomas Jefferson University
  • University of Virginia
  • University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)
  • University of Florida
  • University of Kansas
  • Oregon Health Sciences University

The agreements with our University Alliance Partners (UAP) – and the relationships that the agreements reflect - are game changing for investment in early-stage discovery technology. First, we move the economic and scientific valuation point from the exit out of the UAP to the exit point from BioPontis. This is significant because in today's paradigm, parties attempt to assign value on discovery science as it exits the University source. In the University Alliance model, scientific development furthered by the combined expertise of BioPontis Alliance, the inventing scientist and the UAP, including experimental data, patent claims improvement and new patent filings contributed by BPA and/or the inventing scientist, continue to enhance the value of the asset after its exit from the UAP. Secondly, and critically, BioPontis and the UAPs will share in the total value created during this intellectual property development period upon the asset's exit from the Fund. Thus, both will have a common interest in creating greater value through improvements.

“There’s a big hurdle to overcome when it comes to translating faculty innovations into therapies and cures,” said University of Kansas Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little  in announcing the deal. “It’s often difficult to get the venture capital you need to develop an idea to the point where a company will invest in it. We think the BioPontis model shows great promise for turning discoveries into treatments”.

“The BioPontis business model makes sense and can help solve a nagging problem in the pharmaceutical industry,” said Paul Terranova, vice chancellor for research at the KU Medical Center. “The process of translational research — lab bench to patient bedside — takes too long and costs too much. By acting as a go-between, BioPontis can serve universities as well as industry, making the process more efficient and effective."

"OHSU is pleased to be the first West Coast partner to join this group of leading institutions,” said OHSU President Joe Robertson, M.D., M.B.A. “We’re excited to begin work with BioPontis Alliance to identify promising inventions and leverage our research expertise in an effort to accelerate the lab to market process.”

Pharmaceutical Translational Development Partners

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The Celgene, Merck, Pfizer, and Janssen (J&J) agreements enable these partners to provide BioPontis Alliance with guidance on their product portfolio priorities, scientific and medical counsel on product development strategy, design of experiments, selection of technical development tools and resources, and final development milestone objectives. The agreement provides each pharmaceutical partner with informed access and options to license developed and evaluated therapeutic technologies.

These agreements with BioPontis have been developed in an environment in which other direct industry/academic relationships are being explored. Our partners, and other pharmaceutical companies expressing interest to partner, recognize that a generalizable and effective approach to working broadly with academia has not and likely will not be feasible for them. An intermediary structure to reduce the 'noise' around the positive 'signal' is required.

Translational Development Partners

  • Albany Molecular Research, Inc.
  • Covance, Inc.
  • Taconic Farms, Inc.
  • Rosa & Co.
  • Provid Pharmaceuticals
  • DOCRO, Inc.

Translational development will be executed (with a "prove before promoting" philosophy) through the BioPontis Translational Development Network of scientific and technical contractors with expertise in drug development. These contract research service providers will work with BioPontis under unique agreements. The network includes niche capabilities in leading edge translational tools (e.g. computer simulations or genetically engineered animal modeling) as well as providers with extensive experience delivering pre-clinical services that have supported many IND filings