The Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC) and Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – Cambridge, MA – will work together to jointly select high-potential cancer drug discovery projects from the LDC’s portfolio and its broad academic network.
In the context of their collaboration, the LDC will give Infinity insight into project opportunities arising from its diverse portfolio and its extensive academic network. This includes leading universities as well as renowned institutes from Germany’s world-class research organizations, the Max Planck Society and the Helmholtz Association. The focus will be on the field of oncology.
Infinity will review proposals with the goal of identifying one or more programs for either licensing or collaboration. For the projects selected, Infinity may draw on the LDC’s expertise and resources in early drug discovery and development.
“We are extremely pleased to cooperate with Infinity. With strong capabilities in drug discovery and development and a novel anti-cancer development candidate in registration-focused clinical trials, Infinity is perfectly set to advance pioneering oncology projects into the clinic and eventually to the patient,” says Dr Bert Klebl, Managing Director of the LDC. “Moreover, we are excited to extend our network of collaboration partners into the US. The strong line-up of LDC’s industry partners in Europe, Asia and now in the US highlights the innovation potential of academic research in Germany.”
The partners will agree on the scope and terms of potential co-development partnerships on a project-by-project basis to ensure optimal project progress and a fair distribution of investments and potential returns. Any revenue the LDC may receive from commercialization will be shared with the academic inventors and collaborating institutions.
“The LDC shares our philosophy of discovering new therapies through a data-driven, interdisciplinary approach,” states Dr Vito Palombella, Chief Scientific Officer at Infinity. “The LDC’s commitment to creating new medicines for patients is demonstrated through its strong track record, and Infinity is pleased to work with the LDC on the identification of the next generation of promising new therapies for the treatment of cancer.”
About the LDC
The Lead Discovery Center (LDC) was established in 2008 by the technology transfer organization Max Planck Innovation, as a novel approach to capitalize on the potential of excellent basic research for the discovery of new therapies for diseases with high medical need.
The LDC takes on promising early-stage projects from academia and transforms them into innovative pharmaceutical leads that reach initial proof-of-concept in animals. In close collaboration with high-profile partners from academia and industry, the LDC is building a strong and growing portfolio of small molecule leads with exceptional medical and commercial potential.
The LDC sustains a preferred partnership with the Max Planck Society and has formed alliances with AstraZeneca, Bayer, Merck Serono, Daiichi Sankyo, Infinity, Johnson & Johnson Innovation as well as leading academic drug discovery centers around the globe.
