Deerfield partners with Johns Hopkins to fund early stage discovery

On Nov. 16, Deerfield Management announced a new $65 million JV that will commercialize early stage discovery projects with The Johns Hopkins University, in a deal modeled on last month's pact with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (see BioCentury Innovations, Oct. 19).

The JV, Bluefield Innovations, will fund the development of assets from Johns Hopkins researchers to out-license or spin out as newcos. Bluefield will support about 12 preclinical projects through IND. Deerfield Managing Partner James Flynn told BioCentury that he expects "a fair number" will make it to the company spinout stage. After newcos are formed, Deerfield may choose to offer additional investment...