New Biotech Company to Focus on Unmet Medical Needs

The launch of a biotechnology company, called Anteros Pharmaceuticals, was announced on Tuesday. The company is a collaboration between BioMotiv and Bristol- Myers Squibb.  Anteros Pharmaceuticals will focus on developing a new class of drugs for fibrotic and other inflammatory diseases.

BioMotiv, a mission-driven drug development accelerator associated with The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, both worked to launch Anteros Pharmaceuticals as part of their Strategic Partnership Agreement which was announced in September of 2019.

“Anteros Pharmaceuticals is the first of several companies that BioMotiv and Bristol-Myers Squibb intend to form under the Strategic Partnership Agreement. Anteros will focus on refining a new class of drug candidates for inflammatory diseases, where currently there are no real answers to multiple diseases that afflict millions of patients,” said Satish Jindal, PhD, BioMotiv’s CEO.

The partnership made in 2019 looks at bringing together two organizations in order to develop new and innovative therapies that focus on patients that need the utmost attention. They agreed on forming a fund for new companies to develop therapeutics in areas where there are unmet medical needs.

“This new partnership will allow us to leverage the extensive expertise of Bristol-Myers Squibb across multiple disease areas. Combined with BioMotiv’s unique model and focus on accelerating breakthrough discoveries from leading academic institutions, we have the opportunity to make a real impact on the lives of patients,” said Ted Torphy, PhD, BioMotiv’s CEO and chief science officer.

Bristol-Myers Squibb is able to provide Anteros with intellectual property, data, and reagents for small molecules against an undisclosed mechanism. In other words, Anteros will work to advance the small molecules from Yale University, which hold Bristol-Myers Squibb’s in-licensed original IP.

Furthermore, under the pre-agreed terms, if Anteros nominates a preclinical candidate, Bristol-Myers Squibb has the option to buy the biotech from BioMotiv. This allows Bristol-Myers Squibb to see where the Yale University IP leads without having to commit internal resources to advance the science.

“Bristol-Myers Squibb is committed to partnering with innovative collaborators like BioMotiv, which expand our reach and capabilities in early stage research. These types of partnerships also enable us to progress the transformational research being performed at leading academic institutions such as Yale and effectively translate those discoveries into new therapies for patients,” said Rupert Vessey, executive vice president, research and early development at Bristol-Myers Squibb.