Launched in 1994, Deerfield Management Company is an investment firm dedicated to advancing healthcare through information, investment, and philanthropy—all toward the end goal of cures for disease, improved quality of life, and reduced cost of care.
Deerfield generally maintains a combined portfolio of more than 150 private and public investments across the life science, medical device, diagnostic, digital health and health service industries at all stages of evolution from start-up to mature company.
Deerfield partners with leading academic research centers, providing critical funding and expertise to further sustain and accelerate the commercialization of discoveries toward meaningful societal impact by advancing cures for disease.
The Deerfield Foundation is a New York City-based not-for-profit organization whose mission is to improve health, accelerate innovation and promote human equity.
Cure is a 12-story innovations campus in New York City that intends to bring together innovators from academia, government, industry, and the not-for-profit sectors to advance human health and accelerate the fight against disease.
Cure has a series of expert lectures intended to advance thought in healthcare, management, innovation, policy, and other relevant subjects. This fosters growth and education for those at Cure and its guests.
Deerfield Management and BioSymetrics partner to discover and develop novel therapeutics
Collaboration to advance cardiology and neurology targets using phenomics and genomic data to improve human health
NEW YORK, NEW YORK — Oct. 31, 2022 – Deerfield Management, a healthcare investment firm, and BioSymetrics, a phenomics-driven drug discovery company, today announced a five-year joint venture to accelerate the advancement of new therapeutics, with an initial focus on cardiovascular and neurological diseases. The collaboration will identify new drug discovery programs that combine BioSymetrics’ AI-powered target discovery and validation platform with Deerfield’s drug discovery and commercial modeling capabilities.
“BioSymetrics’ platform creates proprietary and highly valuable insights into biology that can help identify novel therapeutics,” said James Flynn, Managing Partner, Deerfield Management and Cure Founder. “Our collaboration focuses on complex conditions in cardiovascular and neurological disease where BioSymetrics’ data and analytical capabilities can be particularly important. We are excited about the breakthroughs possible through this partnership.”
BioSymetrics takes a phenomics-driven approach to advancing drug discovery. The company’s target discovery platform uses machine learning to connect clinical and experimental data – including patient data from millions of electronic medical records, genomics, and experimental data captured in zebrafish models using proprietary computer vision – to identify high-confidence targets for drug discovery. Targets discovered using BioSymetrics’ platform are grounded in human genetic evidence, giving them twice the likelihood of clinical success as demonstrated in the seminal paper by Matt Nelson, VP Genetics & Genomics at Deerfield Management. BioSymetrics is advancing programs in cardiometabolic, neurological, and rare diseases, including familial dilated cardiomyopathy, atherosclerosis, and epilepsy.
“Deerfield shares our philosophy of using human genetic evidence and rapid in vivo validation in target discovery,” said Anthony Iacovone, Co-founder and CEO. “For a prolific target discovery platform like ours, Deerfield’s strengths in drug discovery and healthcare expertise ensure that together we can aim to focus on the programs with the highest probability of success and drive forward the best science. We are enthusiastic to begin this effort and work together with Deerfield in translating complex clinical and experimental biology into actionable therapeutic development programs.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Deerfield and BioSymetrics will identify therapeutic targets using BioSymetrics’ platform and database. Deerfield will provide target product profiles and due diligence support, commercial modeling services, and drug development plans and infrastructure for projects that the parties decide to advance.
About Deerfield Management
Deerfield Management is an investment management firm committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy. The Firm works across the healthcare ecosystem to connect people, capital, ideas and technology in bold, collaborative and inclusive ways. For more information, please visit www.deerfield.com.
About BioSymetrics
BioSymetrics is a phenomics-driven drug discovery company with a vision to translate data into discoveries. BioSymetrics integrates clinical and experimental data, using machine learning, to translate human disease biology and advance precision medicines. For more information, please visit www.biosymetrics.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
Deerfield Management, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Announce First Educational Collaboration
Deerfield and the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy will join forces to develop a training partnership to support the translation of scientific discovery to commercialization. The partnership will kick off with a seminar on April 16, 2021.
(NEW YORK CITY, NY, March 31, 2021) ––Deerfield Management Company (Deerfield), a healthcare investment management firm focused on advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy, and the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy are thrilled to announce a first-of-its-kind educational-based collaboration that features a new certificate program and kick-off seminar. The certificate, micro-credential program, “Molecules to Market,” will be taught in tandem by academic and industry experts. The certificate program is specifically designed to support the translation of basic research and discovery along the path to commercialization.
The program’s introductory seminar, entitled “Molecules to Market – Overcoming the Valley of Death,” will be held via Zoom on Friday, April 16, 2021 from 9:00 am ET to 11:00 am ET. Registration is free and open to the public with the specific goal of discussing the key elements of any translational program.
“This type of educational-based collaboration is a new development for Deerfield as we continue to innovate and find new ways to advance healthcare,” said James E. Flynn, managing partner at Deerfield. “With this seminar and future certificate, we aim to leverage key learnings and analysis from previous case studies to highlight the steps required to translate a basic discovery to a medicine that will improve patients’ lives. To reach commercialization, the business plan is as important as the science itself, and we hope to educate those in the healthcare community and begin to address that gap.”
The seminar is designed for anyone with an understanding of basic science and a desire to understand both the industry and academic side of translating a discovery for patient benefit. The program aims to create a solution for entrepreneurs, leaders and scientists by creating a deep roster of professionals that understand how to move research through the long process to commercialization.
“Pharmaceutical and biomedical PhD scientists are increasingly involved in all aspects of drug development, but PhD training is almost exclusively focused on technical skills associated with bench science. Our collaboration with Deerfield will fill a much-needed gap by training on specific competencies required to advance discoveries to the market,” said Angela Kashuba, dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy is a world-renowned academic institution and is ranked the No. 1 school of pharmacy in the country by U.S. News & World Report in 2020. Together with Deerfield, the seminar will convene industry and academic leaders to share key insights through analysis of case studies and to discuss in detail what is necessary to move scientific discovery to commercialization.
Panelists include:
John Bamforth, PhD, Director Eshelman Institute for Innovation – Dr. Bamforth previously served as the vice president and chief marketing officer for a broad portfolio of therapeutics at Eli Lilly and Company. He now oversees The Eshelman Institute for Innovation, which aims to accelerate the creation and development of ideas leading to discoveries of new medicines and technologies.
James Flynn, Managing Partner, Deerfield Management – Jim has over 30 years in the healthcare investment industry and is responsible for the management of the Firm, building deep healthcare information expertise through the Deerfield Institute, expanding its investment capabilities to include venture and private structured financings; establishing the Deerfield Foundation to contribute toward the health and welfare of disadvantaged children; creating Deerfield Discovery and Development, LLC, which conducts Deerfield’s translational discovery research efforts; and founding a healthcare innovation center, Cure, at 345 Park Avenue South in New York City.
Michael Foley, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Deerfield Discovery and Development, and Vice President of Translational Drug Development – Dr. Foley joined Deerfield in 2018 to focus on academic collaborations. Previously, he was the CEO of Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute (Tri-I TDI) where he led the efforts to discover drug candidates in an academic setting.
Stephen Frye, PhD, Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor, Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery Co-Program Leader, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy – Dr. Frye is a Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor, Director of the Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, and Co-leader of the Molecular Therapeutics Program, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Cam Wheeler, Ph.D, Partner, Deerfield Management -Cameron Wheeler, Ph.D., is a Partner on the Biotherapeutics group at Deerfield and joined the Firm in 2014. Prior to Deerfield, Dr. Wheeler worked for and on behalf of Eleven Biotherapeutics, Inc. as a director since 2009. Previous to that, Dr. Wheeler was Manager of the Business Development and Operations team at Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and a Senior Associate at Third Rock Ventures, LLC. Dr. Wheeler holds a Ph.D. and S.M. in Biological Engineering and an S.B. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The panel will be moderated by Dr. Michael Jarstfer, Assistant Dean for Graduate Education & Associate Professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Dr. Jarstfer is the Director of the Graduate Studies for Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD Program at UNC. He will speak to the University of North Carolina’s commitment to advancing the translation of scientific discovery to commercialization.
Seminar attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the upcoming certificate program, which is expected to launch later this year, and discover a skillset that is both unique and vital within the healthcare ecosystem. The certificate plans to address the gap between academia and industry which has been known to reduce the speed and success of translational drug development.
This unique educational-based collaboration has been envisioned to further strengthen the Cure, a 12-story vertical innovations campus in New York City that Deerfield recently opened to develop leaders across the healthcare spectrum.
About Deerfield
Deerfield is an investment management firm committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy. For more information, please visit www.deerfield.com.
About UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy
The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, based in Chapel Hill, N.C., is an internationally recognized leader in pharmacy practice, education, and research. We develop leaders in pharmacy education, pharmacy practice, and pharmaceutical sciences who make a difference on human health worldwide. The School is recognized as the No.1 school of pharmacy in the U.S. by U.S. News and World Report and is ranked No. 6 in the 2021 QS World University Rankings for the Best World Universities in Pharmacy and Pharmacology. For more information, visit pharmacy.unc.edu, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Coridea and Deerfield to Accelerate Medtech Innovation
Innovation Center Housed at the Cure in New York City
(NEW YORK CITY, NY, March 9, 2021) – Coridea and Deerfield Management Company (Deerfield) announced today a collaboration, Deerfield Device Design and Development Catalyst (Deerfield Catalyst), to advance medtech innovation and accelerate the formation of commercial companies. The initiative combines the resources of two established health pioneers: Coridea, a proven medtech incubator with a history of innovation, and Deerfield, a healthcare investment firm committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy, with over $14 billion in assets. Deerfield Catalyst will be a founding ecosystem member of the newly developed Cure building, a healthcare innovation and collaboration campus based in midtown Manhattan.
“We see significant value in the medtech industry and are excited to extend our investment in medtech with this newly formed partnership. Coridea’s track record makes its team an ideal partner to innovate, evaluate, and foster new ideas from concept to commercial enterprise,” stated Steve Hochberg, Partner at Deerfield. “As a New York-based firm, we are proud to partner with the team from Coridea as it brings innovative ideas and enterprise-building capabilities into the Cure ecosystem. This will serve to further establish the Northeast region and New York City as a center for healthcare innovation.”
Formed by proven industry leaders, the incubator will provide its companies with discipline and expertise in a collaborative ecosystem. Grounded by years of industry experience, the team will be able to efficiently move projects through key early-stage milestones including needs assessment, concept generation, rapid prototyping, and pre-clinical and clinical evaluation. Deerfield Catalyst will source new projects and companies through internal ideation and external collaboration with academic or individual partners.
“For sustainable commercial success, innovation must address a clear clinical need, whether it be streamlining a procedure to reduce cost or developing a novel intervention to treat more patients. At Deerfield Catalyst we plan to use agile best practices to efficiently advance promising clinical ideas and companies through the development lifecycle,” commented Howard Levin, M.D., CEO of Coridea and Chief Executive of Deerfield Catalyst. “We see a bright future ahead and are excited to become a critical part of the Cure healthcare ecosystem.”
The partnership aims to launch 10 new companies over the next five years. Structured to support company formation and growth, the incubator includes funding for operating expenses, early idea generation, and project and company evaluation. The medtech incubator hub and newly formed companies will be housed in the Cure building at 345 Park Avenue South in Manhattan.
Deerfield Device Design and Development Catalyst (Deerfield Catalyst) is a medtech incubator that aims to support and advance transformational innovation into commercial products and successful enterprises. A collaboration between Deerfield and the Coridea team, Deerfield Catalyst is focused on developing medtech solutions that improve outcomes and streamline patient care. The incubator plans to launch 10 companies over the next five years. To learn more, please visit, www.dfcatalyst.com.
Coridea, is a proven medtech incubator that develops innovative solutions to address complex and costly unmet needs in healthcare. Led by Dr. Howard Levin, Mark Gelfand, Dr. Zoar Engelman and Adam Rosenwach, Coridea has launched several companies that focus on bridging the gap between patient care and medical device innovation. To learn more, please visit coridea.com.
Deerfield is an investment management firm committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy. For more information, please visit www.deerfield.com
Afib treatment advances publish in prominent medical journals
Research Bites|October 2019
Real-time feature of Acutus’ AcQMap results in improved patient outcomes
A clinical
trial investigating Acutus’ AcQMap showed that this novel imaging and mapping
system safely guided cardiac ablation resulting in a 12-month freedom from
recurrent atrial fibrillation (AFib) in 73 percent of patients with persistent
atrial fibrillation.
The results, published in the July 1, 2019 issue of the Journal Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology were first reported earlier this year in a late-breaking trial at the 24th Annual AF Symposium in Boston.
Known as
UNCOVER-AF, the trial prospectively studied the safety and efficacy of the
AcQMap in 127 patients at 13 sites in Europe and Canada – 98 percent of whom
achieved a normal heartbeat upon completion of the procedure.
Characterized
as an irregular heartbeat, AFib is the most common type of heart arrhythmia and
could greatly increase a person’s risk of developing a severe stroke. Cardiac
ablation is a procedure that can reduce the risk, yet traditional ablation
procedures often fail to achieve long-term absence of AFib, resulting in repeat
ablation procedures.
With its precision ultrasound and high definition re-mapping capabilities, AcQMap helps inform physicians in real time who can strive to improve outcomes by checking their work after each ablation.
Acutus has
been a Deerfield portfolio company since 2016.
Farapulse PFA shown as potential alternative to existing ablation procedures
A method of
non-thermal field ablation demonstrated safety and efficacy in clinical trials
comparing outcomes of the modality to those seen with traditional thermal
approaches in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, or episodic AFib.
Called pulsed field ablation (PFA), the alternate
modality was shown to successfully target heart tissue without damaging
adjacent structures like the esophagus or phrenic nerve – a shortcoming of
standard ablation therapies, including radiofrequency (via heat) and
cryotherapy (by way of freezing).
In 81 patients, 100% of pulmonary veins (PV) were
specifically isolated with three minutes of PFA time per patient. Furthermore,
long-term remapping procedures demonstrated that the rates of durable PV
isolation improved with successive waveform modifications with the most
optimized PFA group demonstrating 100% durability.
The rate of primary safety events was low at 1.2%,
and with no subsequent primary adverse events during follow-up.
Farapulse has been a Deerfield portfolio company since
2017.
V-Wave scores FDA breakthrough status on its heart failure shunt
Research Bites|October 2019
V-Wave, Ltd.,
recently announced that it received the prized FDA Breakthrough Designation for
its heart failure shunt. Breakthrough designation is one of the highly sought
pre-approval stamps that the FDA can place on a device.
According to
the FDA’s website, it is granted when the device “provides for more effective
treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating human
disease or conditions” (than what is currently available). The program aims to
provide patients and health care providers with more timely access to medical
devices “by speeding up their development, assessment and review,” including
prioritized review all the way through to market approval.
V-Wave’s
minimally-invasive implanted interatrial shunt for the treatment of patients
with severe symptomatic heart failure is designed to regulate left atrial
pressure, the primary cause of breathing difficulty and hospitalization due to
worsening heart failure.
“In addition to validation of the potential impact of this technology, breakthrough status will facilitate a timely regulatory review and solve a major issue with medical device investments, namely that reimbursement will effectively be secured immediately upon approval,” said Deerfielder, Andrew ElBardissi, MD, who serves on the Company’s board of directors.
remain
symptomatic despite the use of guideline directed medical and device therapies.
An ejection
fraction is an important measurement of how well the heart is pumping and is
used to help classify heart failure and guide treatment. In a healthy heart,
the ejection fraction is 50 percent or higher – meaning that more than half of
the blood that fills the ventricle is pumped out with each beat.
According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 6 million adults in the
United States have heart failure and about half of these individuals die within
5 years of diagnosis. Heart failure costs the nation an estimated $30.7 billion
each year.
Achieving
this status means that the device also met at least one of the following FDA
criteria:
It
represents breakthrough technology;
No
approved or cleared alternatives exist;
It
offers significant advantages over existing approved or cleared alternatives;
and
Availability
of this device is in the best interest of patients.
V-Wave, Ltd., a privately held medical device company, has been a
Deerfield portfolio company since 2018.
Adapted from company news release: V-WAVE’S INTERATRIAL SHUNT RECEIVES FDA BREAKTHROUGH DEVICE DESIGNATION FOR HEART FAILURE:
Deerfield Discovers Gender Affects Treatment and Outcome in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
New York, NY – December 21, 2017 – Deerfield announced today the publication of “Persisting disparities between sexes in outcomes of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm hospitalizations” in the journal Scientific Reports. Scientific Reports is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal from Nature Research. This is one of 12 articles written by Deerfield this year that has been published in peer reviewed journals.
The article, written by Deerfield Institute’s Mark Stuntz, Céline Audibert and Zheng Su, examines the discrepancies between the sexes in outcomes of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAA). Deerfield showed that although the incidence and mortality for rAAA has generally improved over time for both males and females, discrepancies still exist between the male and female population. Its findings revealed that females remain at a higher risk of in-hospital death than males and are less likely to undergo rAAA repair. In fact, even if females did receive surgery, they were more likely to have fatal outcomes. This article is intended to stimulate further exploration of gender based differences in the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms with the goal of improving outcomes.
About Deerfield
Deerfield is an investment management firm committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy.
Deerfield Management Company Invests $170 Million to Advance Aortic Disorder Treatment
New York, NY, April 5, 2017 – Deerfield Management Company announced today that it has committed to provide up to $170 million to Endologix, Inc. in a combination of senior secured notes and a working capital facility.
Endologix is a marketer and developer of innovative, minimally invasive technologies that provide personalized treatments to patients suffering from Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAA). The company’s unique approach to addressing key issues, such as challenging anatomies, difficult access, and aneurysm sealing, provides patients with improved outcomes and may reduce procedure length and hospital stay with Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR), Percutaneous Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (PEVAR), and Endovascular Aneurysm Sealing (EVAS) procedures.
The facility provided by Deerfield is comprised of $120 million of senior secured notes and a $50 million revolving line of credit. Warrants to purchase 6.47 million shares were included as part of the senior notes. This financing provides Endologix with capital to retire certain existing debt, as well as fund its development and marketing of EVAR, PEVAR, and EVAS platforms and its procedure planning software.
“We believe Endologix’s portfolio provides a broad and innovative range of options for treating AAA patients, from relatively routine cases to complex disease. As recently launched products continue to gain traction and the pipeline matures, we expect Endologix to play an important role in enhancing the standard of care, especially in patients with difficult-to-treat disease,” stated Avi Kometz, Partner at Deerfield Management Company.
“We are excited to partner with Deerfield, a leading healthcare investor, to advance our groundbreaking AAA technologies by providing a broad and flexible financing solution to fit our needs,” remarked Vaseem Mahboob, Chief Financial Officer at Endologix, Inc. “Deerfield’s creative and collaborative process led to a complete financing package that will address both our financing and market research needs.”
About Endologix, Inc.
Endologix, Inc. develops and manufactures minimally invasive treatments for aortic disorders. The Company’s focus is endovascular stent grafts for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). AAA is a weakening of the wall of the aorta, the largest artery in the body, resulting in a balloon-like enlargement. Once AAA develops, it continues to enlarge and, if left untreated, becomes increasingly susceptible to rupture. The overall patient mortality rate for ruptured AAA is approximately 80%, making it a leading cause of death in the United States. For more information, visit www.endologix.com.
About Deerfield
Deerfield is an investment management firm committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy. For more information, please visit www.deerfield.com
Contacts
Deerfield Management Company Karen Heidelberger, 212-692-7140 [email protected]
Deerfield Announces $30 Million Investment in Discovery Labs
February 13, 2013 04:01 PM Eastern Time
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Deerfield Management Company, L.P. announced today that it has entered into a secured loan facility with Discovery Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSCO), for up to $30.0 million in financing.
The financing provides Discovery with capital to commercialize its drug SURFAXIN®, which has been approved by the FDA for the prevention of Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) in premature infants at high risk for RDS, and its AFECTAIR ® airway connector for infants receiving aerosolized medication in neonatal or pediatric intensive care units. The launch of these products will enable Discovery to transition from a development- to a commercial-stage company, and further develop its lead pipeline product, AEROSURF®. The financing was structured to provide funding over time as needed and to avoid the dilution and potential discount of a public offering of stock or convertible debt financing.
Under terms of the facility, Deerfield committed to advance $30 million this year: $10 million upon execution of the facility agreement and $20 million upon the first commercial sale of SURFAXIN. The loan matures in six years and accrues interest at 8.75% per annum, payable quarterly in cash. Upon the initial disbursement, Deerfield will receive warrants to purchase 2.3 million shares of common stock at an exercise price of $2.81 per share. Upon disbursement of the $20 million, Deerfield will receive warrants to purchase an additional 4.7 million shares of Common Stock at the same exercise price per share of Common Stock. All of the warrants will expire on the sixth anniversary date of the facility agreement. With each disbursement, Deerfield will receive a transaction fee equal to 1.5% of the amount disbursed.
“We believe that SURFAXIN® and AEROSURF® could represent meaningful improvements in the care of premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome,” commented William Slattery, Partner at Deerfield Management. “Our goal with this facility is to strengthen Discovery’s financial position in a minimally dilutive way and build a long-term relationship that helps advance these important programs for neonatal medicine.”
“We are encouraged by Deerfield’s confidence in the potential of our transformative technology and business strategy,” commented John G. Cooper, President and Chief Executive Officer at Discovery Labs. “After considering a variety of financing options, we worked with Deerfield to structure a facility that aligns with our near- and long-term strategy to achieve important commercial, development and strategic milestones.”
About Discovery Labs
Discovery Laboratories, Inc. is a specialty biotechnology company focused on respiratory critical care, initially in the management of respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants. Discovery Labs’ novel proprietary KL4 surfactant technology produces a synthetic, peptide-containing surfactant that is structurally similar to pulmonary surfactant. Discovery Labs is also developing its proprietary drug delivery technologies to enable efficient delivery of aerosolized KL4 surfactant and other inhaled therapies.
For more information, please visit www.Discoverylabs.com.
About Deerfield Management Company
Deerfield is committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy.
For more information about Deerfield, please visit www.deerfield.com.
Contacts
Deerfield Management Company Karen Arnone, 212-922-1349 [email protected]
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