Transcript Commercializing Life Sciences

John McCulloch PhD
Venture Group Advisor
MaRS Discovery District
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Post-doc at UCL Medical School, London, UK
Licensed monoclonal antibodies to US
company
Negotiation, license and transfer process
Impressions
◦ Ease of funding vs. grant system
◦ Calculation of value and royalty rates
◦ Seeing our work make a difference in the outside
world
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UK academic culture re. commercialization
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Drug Royalty Corporation in 1994 (DRI
Capital)
$1.0 billion under management
Life sciences investor – acquires royalties on
drugs, diagnostics, etc.
Security = due diligence
Reviewed hundreds of opportunities, many
arising from academic labs in the US and UK
Joined MaRS in 2007
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MaRS is an international convergence centre
based in Toronto
Our mission is to create successful global
businesses built from Canada’s science and
technology
We provide advisory services, entrepreneurship
programs, conference space and office/lab
facilities
Wide range of tenants at MaRS: startups to Merck
Recently launched MaRS Innovation
◦ Will commercialize innovations from 16 Toronto
institutions
◦ Will select most promising inventions and provide
funding for patent prosecution and pre-investment
development (POP and “de-risking”)
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Government
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Medical Research Council
$1.0 billion R&D 2007-8
130 patent families
$152 million license revenue in 2007-8
Private
◦ Wellcome Trust ($23 billion endowment)
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Charities
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Cancer Research UK
Arthritis Rheumatism Campaign
National Heart Research Fund
Diabetes UK
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National Research Development Corporation
(1948)
◦ Mission: to commercialize publicly funded research
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Fused with National Enterprise Board in 1981
to create the British Technology Group (BTG)
◦ BTG became custodian of many NRDC assets
◦ 1992 – management buyout
◦ 1995 – LSE flotation = BTG plc
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Major BTG assets = MRI, BeneFIX, Campath
Initially “de-risked” technologies and licensed
out
Evolved to product development focus
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Founded in 1913
Numerous landmark discoveries:
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Influenza virus
Penicillin
DNA
Link between smoking & lung cancer
Monoclonal antibodies
C. elegans genome
35 MRC institutes across UK
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Founded in 1947 (Cambridge, UK)
13 Nobel laureates
Basic molecular biology research led to a
wealth of antibody technologies:
◦ Monoclonal antibodies (Milstein & Kohler, 1975)
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 NRDC did not file patents!
Chimeric antibodies (Neuberger & Rabbits 1984)
Humanized antibodies (Winter 1986)
Human antibodies (Winter 1990s)
Human antibody genome mice (Neuberger 1990s)
Single domain antibodies (Winter & Tomlinson
2000)
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Humira (Abbott)
 RA, Crohn’s, psoriasis
 US$1.54 billion sales
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Tysabri (Biogen Idec)
 MS
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Actemra (Roche/Chugai)
 RA
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Campath (Genzyme/Bayer)
 lymphoma, RA
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Vectibix (Amgen)
 Colorectal cancer
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Celltech
 acquired by UCB ($2.25 billion)
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Cambridge Antibody Technology
 acquired by AstraZeneca ($1.25 billion)
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Domantis
 acquired by GlaxoSmithKline ($411 million)
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Licenses to 37 other companies
MRC-LMB has played a critical role in the
development of powerful, selective drugs for
autoimmune disease and cancer
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2000-2006
◦ Humanized antibodies = $150 million
◦ Human antibodies = $227 million
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MRC-sourced antibody products are still
growing
◦ Humira is a blockbuster drug
◦ >$1.5 billion sales/year
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MRC uses the revenues from antibody
technology to support basic research and
expand research infrastructure
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The UK has been extremely successful in life
sciences commercialization based on top tier
research
If you can’t patent an initial technology, keep
innovating!
◦ LMB created five next generation technologies after
mABs
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Get the technology out in the field as widely as
possible via non-exclusive licenses
Reinvest the proceeds in basic research
◦ Main driver of innovation in MRC-LMB case
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Importance of angels
John McCulloch
PhD
416-673-8127
[email protected]