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BioPontis Alliance Enters Transformative Partnerships with Major Universities to Unleash Innovative Science Toward Medical Product Development

BioPontis will conduct the intermediary technical and patent development work that must be completed to attract downstream development partners in the biopharmaceutical industry. BioPontis Alliance brings industry veteran expertise to its portfolio of select technology projects sourced from its academic research partners.

"NYU is committed to translational research and has a strong track record in seeing its discoveries successfully commercialized to benefit the public," said Abram Goldfinger, Executive Director of the NYU Office of Industrial Liaison. "For this reason we chose to work with BioPontis Alliance, as they are experienced at navigating the long and complex process of transforming researching into actual medical products, and are committed to helping our university continue to develop new technologies that can be shared with the public."

"At UNC-Chapel Hill, we are striving to advance biomedical innovations that show potential to improve health care but are too early for commercialization," said Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and economic development. "We think BioPontis Alliance could help us bridge that gap between the lab and the market place."

BioPontis Alliance will work closely with participating faculty inventors so that both parties can benefit from critical research and knowledge gains as development projects are translated toward commercialization. The BioPontis model promotes real collaboration on testing and validation, as well as on patent enhancements; a departure from typical pass-off relationships between academia and industry.

"What is likely to fuel this collaboration is the attractiveness of the BioPontis Alliance model, which brings desperately needed financial resources and development expertise to bear at one of the most critical and delicate stages of university-based technology validation and commercialization," remarked Michael J. Cleare Ph.D., Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director of the Center for Technology Transfer at the University of Pennsylvania. "Universities need a palette of mechanisms to choose from as we work to meet our commitment to achieving public good from our innovative science," David Day of the University of Florida notes. "BioPontis Alliance is a model that could be reiterated across many scientific fields and many institutions."

BioPontis Alliance is currently raising a $35 million fund that is attracting strategic investors as the company provides early access to the innovation flow much needed by the pharmaceutical industry. "Co-investment by private investors is also anticipated," says Dr. Barbara Handelin, President at BioPontis Alliance, "as we deploy capital extremely efficiently across the portfolio, avoiding fixed costs by employing almost exclusively contracted R&D facilities and expertise. We have figured out how to de-risk this space starting with the right applied science and patenting expertise. Selection of candidate technologies is the initial and key step. Here our attention is on clinical need, a therapeutic area focus, and a clear regulatory pathway."

BioPontis expects to close the fund in Q3 and will immediately begin development on initial assets identified at BioPontis University Alliance Partners. BioPontis Alliance expects to announce several additional potential university alliance partners and major pharmaceutical partners in the near future.

About BioPontis Alliance LLC: BioPontis Alliance LLC is an operating biomedical development partnership, deploying its fund across a portfolio of early stage technologies. BioPontis Alliance is comprised of experienced scientific and commercialization industry veterans who select assets and perform the required proof of principle work that reduces risk and builds early value in innovative science. BioPontis Alliance operates out of both the Research Triangle Park region and the Mid-Atlantic (Philadelphia), homes to the core of the biopharmaceutical industry and research expertise. Founded in May 2009, BioPontis Alliance is committed to changing legacy structures and methods that have limited the productivity of the biomedical research engine in improving healthcare outcomes with important scientific discoveries. www.biopontisalliance.com

BioPontis Alliance
Richard A. Basile
Senior Operating Officer
Mobile: 919-345-5386
rbasile@biopontisalliance.com