GSK/Pentraxin: Targeting SAP in Amyloidosis, and Maybe Alzheimer's Too
This article was originally published in Start Up
Executive Summary
University College London spin-out Pentraxin's February 2009 tie-up with GlaxoSmithKline in amyloidosis showed GSK's willingness to invest in risky, early-stage research. Weeks later, Pentraxin announced promising clinical data with a related program in Alzheimer's, raising the possibility that this alliance may yet expand beyond a specialist niche.
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Frustrated by the continued lack of early-stage VC funding for projects emerging from its laboratories, Max Planck Innovations GMBH is launching its own VC fund, DDC Ventures. The fund is just one component of an ambitious tech transfer initiative dubbed the "drug development center", which kicked off last year with the creation of a Lead Discovery Center in Dortmund, Germany.
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