ImQuest BioSciences and Arisyn Therapeutics announce strategic partnership

ImQuest BioSciences and Arisyn Therapeutics have entered into a strategic drug development partnership to provide support necessary to develop Arisyn’s portfolio of novel inhibitors for the treatment of infectious disease and cancer.

Arisyn has recently announced its acquisition of a series of inhibitors with demonstrated preclinical efficacy against HIV, HCV, HTLV-I, influenza virus, herpes viruses and cancer. These inhibitors were originally discovered and developed by The Proctor & Gamble Company. Lead molecules from the portfolio have already been evaluated in Phase 1 human clinical trials for the treatment of HIV and cancer, and an IND-application has been prepared for submission to the FDA to initiate trials for HCV therapy.

Sanofi and Oxford BioMedia redraw alliance

CNBC reports that Sanofi Aventis had handed back to Oxford BioMedica Plc the rights to Trovax, a therapeutic cancer vaccine but also started a new alliance in eye medicine. Oxford BioMedica will receive an immediate payment of $16.5 million relating to the Trovax decision, sufficient funds to support Oxford BioMedica’s operations into 2012. Sanofi plans a new collaboration with Oxford BioMedica to develop gene-based medicines for treatment of ocular diseases. Oxford BioMedica will get an upfront payment of $26 million and committed funding of up to a further $24 million over three years under this new collaboration. Shares in Oxford BioMedica were 24% higher on the news.

Pfizer and UCL announce stem cell collaboration

Pfizer has announced that it has entered into a collaboration and license agreement with University College London focused on gaining better understanding into how to develop stem cell-based therapies for ophthalmic conditions. Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will provide funding to UCL to enable research into the development of stem cell-based therapies for AMD as well as other retinal diseases. Pfizer is granted exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize an RPE stem cell-based therapeutic in the ophthalmology field. After the completion of preclinical safety studies, Pfizer will have the option to conduct clinical trials to determine efficacy of treatment and commercialize any resulting product.

Half of IT solution providers regret joining partner programs

A new report by Channel Insider and Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions claims that solution providers, on average, will join two to three vendor programs over the next 12 months. According to the report’s authors, the solution providers will regret that decision more than half the time. The main reasons given for providers regretting the decision were the vendor failed to deliver on promises and the technology not performing as advertised. The full report is available here.

Elan seeking a partnership

Reuters is reporting that the Irish drugmaker Elan is was seeking a partnership with a big pharmaceutical company, after reporting a 14% rise in first-quarter revenues and a wider net loss. According to Reuters the comments come before the release of a strategic review of Elan’s business by Citigroup, which was hired in January to look at options including a possible sale or merger.

Merck signs performance related deal with Cigna

Reuters reports that Merck & Co and Cigna Corp have signed a deal whereby Merck will give discounts on its diabetes drugs to Cigna if the health insurer’s diabetic members stay on their medicines and show improvements in their blood-sugar levels. Under the agreement, Merck will provide discounts on Januvia and Janumet to Cigna if a greater portion of the insurer’s diabetic members reach blood-sugar goals, even if the patients are taking drugs other than Merck’s.

British government pours money into biotechnology and technology

Reuters is reporting that the British high-technology sector will get a state investment of £750 million through a fund focussing on emerging technology. The Innovation Fund announced by Chancellor Alistair Darling in his annual Budget speech to parliament will provide financial support, focussing on emerging technologies and regionally important sectors in, for example, advanced manufacturing, digital and biotechnology.

Reducing alliance management metrics to meaninglessness

Recently we were asked by a client if we collect metrics such as speed of response to alliance partners, time taken to answer partners’ calls and so on on behalf of other clients. The short answer is that we don’t, for three reasons.

First, communications between partners are typically so complex and so varied that an average call or response time would be reductive to the point of meaninglessness. Second, with the explosion of communication channels (Twitter, LinkedIn, email and so on) getting any metric about the speed of communication would be all but impossible. Third and most importantly, the key factor in managing alliances and partnerships is the quality of communication between the partners, not the speed or the volume. And the only way that we can determine the quality of the communications between the parties is by asking them a mixture of closed and open questions that bear directly on quality.

Fujitsu and Cisco expand strategic alliance

Fujitsu and Cisco have announced the expansion of their strategic alliance to deliver unified communications in the Japanese market. As a part of the expanded alliance, Fujitsu and Cisco have agreed to work together to develop unified communications solutions and collaborate on services and marketing activities. The alliance is focused on unified communications which are designed to enable collaboration between individuals and groups – no matter what location or time zone they are in.

HUYA Bioscience partners with Abbott

HUYA Bioscience International has announced an agreement with Abbott to identify and pursue proprietary preclinical and clinical drug candidates that originate in China. Abbott will gain access to HUYA’s Chinese bioscience network of companies, universities, government research institutions and bioparks throughout the country. HUYA has agreements in place with many of these organizations whereby HUYA has access to compounds and biologics in a variety of indications. HUYA is currently evaluating and following the progress of more than 600 lead, preclinical and clinical drug candidates. HUYA already has a collaboration with collaboration agreement with Schering- Plough Corporation.