Boston Pharmaceuticals launches to speed Big Pharma's drugs through trials
Former Sanofi CEO, Chris Viehbacher, has launched Boston Pharmaceuticals, following $600m in funding from Gurnet Point Capital. The company will identify and develop drug candidates from the Investigational New Drug (IND) stage, through to late stage (Phase IIb/III) clinical trials, responding to evolution in the business models of large pharmaceutical manufacturers. Boston Pharmaceuticals plans to outsource much of the trial work to contract research organisations (CROs) such as Quintiles, and will reportedly focus on "long-term investments". The former Head of Global R&D at Eli Lilly will serve as CEO. 

This is a startup launch that’s emblematic of the changes going on in the pharmaceutical world: Boston Pharmaceuticals has been birthed with $600 million from life sciences investment firm Gurnet Point Capital. And it’s being led team by big pharma’s previous top brass – including the former CEO of Sanofi.

Big pharma is shopping out more and more of its R&D to smaller biopharma companies – and cutting its ranks within. To fit into this landscape, Boston Pharmaceuticals will start at the midpoint of the drug development process, picking up at the clinical development stage of already validated drug targets.

It’s interested in acquiring large and small molecule-based medicines that are IND-ready or beyond – acquiring these drugs outright or through licensing. The focus is to develop assets through to proof-of-concept, and even to late stage trials, registration and commercialization.

Christopher Viehbacher, the former CEO of Sanofi and current Gurnet Point Capital managing partner, will serve as the company’s chairman. Robert Armstrong, former head of global R&D at Eli Lilly, will be Boston Pharmaceuticals’ chief executive.

“This is a new way to develop and bring to market innovative medicines,” Viehbacher said in a statement. “In today’s world of enhanced scientific progress, but constrained financial resources for R&D, Boston Pharmaceuticals offers an efficient means to de-risk and unlock value in early stage capital that might not otherwise be developed.”

Indeed, the company will focus on the development phase of drug R&D – an important stopgap before drug candidates are lucrative enough to be acquired by big pharma. Despite the massive upfront investment, it means to operate as a startup – with a small team of clinical development and regulatory experts.

Much of the work will be outsourced to contract research organizations around the globe. The company’s flush with capital, and will focus on long-term investments.

“By not having any imperatives other then the successful development of its molecules, Boston Pharmaceuticals will be in the most unbiased position to exploit their full potential,” Armstrong said in the statement.

[Image from Flickr user Bill Brooks]