NEW YORK, April 17, 2024 – Genscience LLC, a company applying genetic evidence and proprietary platforms for drug discovery and development and an affiliate of Deerfield Management Company (“Deerfield”), a healthcare investment firm, today announced a new study that shows incorporating genetic evidence into drug design significantly increases the probability of successful development by up to 2.6 times compared to when genetic evidence is absent. The new study appeared in the April 17, 2024 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Nature.¹ The study also documents new findings regarding how different characteristics of genetic evidence impact drug development success.

“These findings further demonstrate that genetic evidence is the most effective means to improve drug discovery and development success rates and R&D efficiency,” said Matt Nelson, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Genscience and Vice President of Genetics and Genomics, Deerfield Discovery and Development (3DC). “This new data helps illustrate the power of genetic evidence to enrich our understanding of the relationship between a potential drug target and the disease we seek to treat.”

The new study builds on pivotal work Nelson published in 2015 ² and documents which genetic associations are more likely to differentiate successful from unsuccessful drug mechanisms across 18 therapy areas and among five discovery and development phases from preclinical to launched. Nelson and his colleagues found that the probability of success for drug mechanisms backed by genetic evidence is 2.6 times higher than those lacking such support, with a four-fold increase in hematology and metabolic therapy areas.

“This study provides a basis for optimism, that we can improve the success rate in drug discovery,” said Eric Vallabh Minikel, PhD, first author of the study, and senior group leader at the Broad Institute. “Human genetics can point us to the root molecular causes of disease and enable us to design fundamentally disease-modifying therapies.”

Nelson acknowledges that although many questions remain about the application and effectiveness of human genetics in drug discovery, the field of genetics identifies causal relationships between genes and disease in humans, providing a growing opportunity for novel target identification and improving indication selection for existing drugs and drug candidates. Increasing emphasis on drug mechanisms with supporting genetic evidence is expected to increase success rates and lower the cost of drug discovery and development.

“The implications of this study are profound, offering a promising genetic-informed approach for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to improve their drug development strategies and increase the likelihood of bringing life-saving medications to market,” said James Flynn, Managing Partner, Deerfield Management. “These findings also demonstrate the meaningful discoveries that advance health and clinical trials that Deerfield, 3DC and Genscience are committed to supporting.”

¹Minikel EV, Painter JL, Dong CC, Nelson MR. Refining the impact of genetic evidence on clinical success. Nature. 2024. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07316-0.

²Nelson MR, Tipney H, Painter JL, et al. The support of human genetic evidence for approved drug indications. Nat Genet. 2015;47(8):856-860. doi:10.1038/ng.3314

About Genscience

Genscience, spun out of Deerfield Management Company and founded by Matthew R. Nelson, PhD, in 2023, is a platform and services company, developing state-of-the science genetics capabilities for the purpose of supporting drug discovery and development across disease areas.

About Deerfield Management

Deerfield 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, visit www.deerfield.com.

###

Genscience contact:

Matthew R. Nelson, PhD

[email protected]

Deerfield contact:

Rachel Pelletier

[email protected]

+1 202-778-1000

NEW YORK– APRIL 9, 2024 – Cure.®, a healthcare innovation campus in New York City, has opened applications to the XSeed Award, an annual competitive program designed to disrupt the status quo by supporting traditionally underfunded and underrepresented minority- and women-led life science and healthcare startups working on drug development in New York City. Deerfield Management, a New York City-based healthcare investment firm, founded and supports the XSeed Award.

In 2024, two winning teams will become eligible to receive up to $250,000 each. They also will join the Cure ecosystem with their fellow awardees to receive entrepreneurshipmentoring and networking designed to help them move promising translational research to the marketplace and commercial success. The deadline for XSeed Award application submissions is May 31, 2024, and virtual finalist presentations will be June 28, 2024. The program will announce winners on Sept. 2, 2024, and they will receive honors at an official ceremony at Cure in October 2024. 

“The XSeed Award is designed to bring equity and diversity to life science and healthcare innovation, where ongoing barriers critically impact the cures developed for underserved communities and the careers of scientists from underrepresented communities. For example, Black and female scientists remain significantly less likely than their white or male colleagues to receive three or more NIH research grants, a threshold that academic institutions prioritize for faculty hires and retention,[i]” said James E. Flynn, Managing Partner at Deerfield and Cure Founder. “Deerfield is pleased to continue our collaboration on the transformational XSeed program, alongside the NYCEDC, Cure and the experts who comprise our enthusiastic XSeed Award Leadership Committee.”

In addition to advancing their research, the 2024 cohort of X-Seed Award winners will enhance their entrepreneurial skills, networks and visibility via the Cure ecosystem. Graduates of each cohort will then serve as mentors and coaches for future cohorts, further strengthening the entrepreneurial community in New York City.

“The Cure ecosystem of industry, investment and innovation experts is an ideal setting to mentor XSeed Award winners and hone their business knowledge to help their life science and healthcare achievements,” said Seema Kumar, CEO of Cure. “We look forward to welcoming the XSeed Award winners who, along with the Cure Xchange Challenge winners, are startups advancing health through collaboration and community building via Cure.”

Deerfield and the New York City Economic Development Corporation launched the XSeed Award as a yearly program in 2020 to provide funding to help address critical funding gaps for the diverse population of most talented researchers and entrepreneurs in New York City.  Advancium Health Network, an independent non-profit organization launched by Deerfield Management and dedicated to advancing healthcare and health equity, has helped operationalize the XSeed Awards since 2022.

“The XSeed Award program aims to break down barriers and create equal opportunity in the life sciences sector by supporting minority- and women-led research and early-stage ventures to help yield the medicines of tomorrow,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) Chief Strategy Officer Cecilia Kushner. “As Cure’s ecosystem expands, the XSeed Award program will continue to help establish New York City as both a premier and inclusive hub for the life sciences industry. We are thrilled to be working alongside Deerfield and Cure again to support this important effort.”

XSeed Leadership Committee 

Finalists will present their work to an esteemed panel comprised of the XSeed Award Leadership Committee, which includes Joseph Pearlberg, MD, PhD, Vice President of Scientific Affairs at Deerfield and committee co-chair; Claire Pomeroy, MD, President and CEO of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation; Christine Brideau, Head of Preclinical Pharmacology, Deerfield Management; Glennis Mehra, Ph.D., Director of Biolabs@NYULangone; and Jane Williams, MD, MPH, Vice President, head of Neuroscience, Rare Disease and Pediatrics at Syneos Health.

To learn more about the XSeed Award’s applicant eligibility criteria and to submit applications, visit https://wewillcure.com/xseed-award

About XSeed

Deerfield created the XSeed Award program in September 2019 through a partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) to aid the development of the Deerfield-founded healthcare innovation campus Cure. Deerfield and NYCEDC launched the XSeed Award in December 2020, with the first cohort of winners announced in April 2021.

Since its inception, the XSeed program has helped fill early-stage funding gaps within the life sciences industry by identifying and supporting promising translational research and commercial opportunities of underrepresented and underfunded startups, financially and through a mentorship cohort. To learn more about the XSeed Award, visit https://wewillcure.com/xseed-award.

About Deerfield Management

Deerfield 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 Cure.^®
Cure is a healthcare innovation campus in the heart of New York City that features laboratory and business facilities, a collaboration residency, office space and premium event venues, including an education center, conference center, and iconic rooftop facility, as well as tools, mentoring, networking, and other assistance to members of its ecosystem. Cure houses on-campus startup and established companies. Residents regularly create synergies and collaborative partnerships with peer organizations across the spectrum of healthcare, from academic or private to non-profit or government, and focus on diagnostic, device, drug or vaccine discovery, development and production as well as care delivery and public health. Cure also offers industry-leading event programming focused on critical health topics. Cure’s mission is to foster and accelerate advances in health. For more information, please visit wewillcure.com.

Cure Media Contact:
Caroline Drucker
[email protected]
(917) 588-3016

[i] Nguyen M, Chaudhry SI, Desai MM, Dzirasa K, Cavazos JE, Boatright D. Gender, Racial, and Ethnic and Inequities in Receipt of Multiple National Institutes of Health Research Project Grants. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(2):e230855. Published 2023 Feb 1. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.0855.

New York, New York, – January 16, 2024  Washington University in St. Louis and Deerfield Management (“Deerfield”), a healthcare investment firm, today announced the launch of VeritaScience, a new private R&D collaboration designed to advance the discovery, clinical development and commercialization of promising therapeutic and diagnostic candidates with potential to benefit human health. 

To support projects that originate from the collaboration, Deerfield has committed up to $130 million over the next 10 years, along with functional expertise, through a newly formed company. Washington University’s investigators will have the opportunity to work with Deerfield’s internal team, which has expertise across the drug development continuum from discovery through commercialization. VeritaScience is named to honor Washington University’s motto “Per Veritatem Vis,” which means “Strength Through Truth” in Latin.

The VeritaScience collaboration complements the university’s existing efforts in drug development and its innovative culture. Project proposals can be designed around any disease indication. Washington University’s investigators will submit project proposals to VeritaScience and its scientific review team, which is led by Deerfield experts and guided by the university’s Office of Technology Management and Washington University School of Medicine’s (“WashU Medicine”) business development team. Accepted drug discovery projects will receive a development plan aimed at achieving Investigational New Drug readiness and may be eligible for additional funding and support for the creation of separate, start-up companies.

Washington University is known worldwide for its innovative research programs in the medical sciences, aimed at improving human health. The university currently is ranked #7 in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding among U.S. universities, with $633 million received in the 2023 federal fiscal year. This includes nearly $584 million in funding for research initiatives at WashU Medicine, which currently is ranked #2 in NIH funding among U.S. medical schools.

“The exciting collaboration with Deerfield Management to create VeritaScience represents yet another major approach to leveraging the research capabilities of Washington University,” said David H. Perlmutter, MD, the George and Carol Bauer Endowed Dean of Washington University School of Medicine, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor. “Deerfield has extensive experience in academic-industry partnerships, and this agreement allows us to further advance the ‘virtuous cycle of academic medicine’ and our commitment to translating ever more of the landscape-altering discoveries happening in our labs into tools and therapies that will concretely improve human health and alleviate suffering.”

The VeritaScience collaboration is an example of Deerfield’s engagement with research institutions. Currently, Deerfield’s network includes nearly 30 leading research institutions and medical centers, which aims to bring the healthcare ecosystem together to collaborate and learn from each other. Together with its research partners, Deerfield has provided funding and expertise to create spin-off companies that support key avenues from concept to spin-out of novel therapeutic discoveries.

“Throughout the process of forming VeritaScience, what has stood out to our team at Deerfield is the forward-thinking and innovation-focused Washington University culture,” said James Flynn, managing partner of Deerfield. “We intend to equip the researchers of selected projects with flexible capital, expertise, and operational support to help them realize their discoveries’ potential.”

ABOUT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

Washington University in St. Louis is counted among the world’s leaders in teaching, research, patient care and service to society. The university draws students and faculty to St. Louis from more than 100 countries and all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The total student body is approximately 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Washington University has been affiliated with 25 Nobel laureates, many of whom did a significant portion of their award-winning work at the university. The university offers more than 90 programs and almost 1,500 courses leading to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in a broad spectrum of traditional and interdisciplinary fields, with additional opportunities for minor concentrations and individualized programs.

WashU Medicine is a global leader in academic medicine, including biomedical research, patient care and educational programs with 2,800 faculty. Its National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding portfolio is the second largest among U.S. medical schools, has grown more than 40% in the last six years and, together with institutional investment, WashU Medicine commits well over $1 billion annually to basic and clinical research innovation and training. Its faculty practice is consistently within the top five in the country, with more than 1,800 faculty physicians practicing at over 65 locations and who are also the medical staffs of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals of BJC HealthCare.

ABOUT DEERFIELD MANAGEMENT

Deerfield 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.

Media Contact:

Anthony Karamourtopoulos

[email protected]

Diane Duke Williams

[email protected]

NEW YORK, Dec. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Deerfield Foundation (“Deerfield”), the philanthropic affiliate of Deerfield Management Company, a healthcare investment firm, today announced the awarding of $1.497 million to support 13 grantee not-for-profit organizations in seven countries in their 2024 healthcare initiatives to benefit children and their families from underserved communities.

“For more than 15 years, the Deerfield Foundation has made annual grants to help fuel the activities and initiatives of organizations that share our mission to improve health, innovation and equity, with a focus on children and where they live,” said Mark Veich, Vice President, Philanthropy and Executive Director of The Deerfield Foundation. “Our strategic giving helps outstanding organizations develop therapies, deliver treatments or improve public health services to make a positive impact to individual children as well as whole communities.”

Since its inception as a private not-for-profit in 2007, the Deerfield Foundation has awarded more than $45 million to more than 100 organizations to deliver on Deerfield Management’s mission of advancing healthcare through philanthropy. The Deerfield Foundation’s funding reflects contributions from employees of Deerfield Management Company as well as its profits.

This year’s grantees will receive one-year grants in December 2023 to carry out 2024 initiatives focused on pediatric and adolescent health. A program committee of the Deerfield Foundation selected grantees based on the direct and measurable impacts of their proposals. The committee also considered  opportunities where Deerfield employees could  provide their support through meaningful collaborations. The Deerfield Foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funding, and all potential grantees are invited by Deerfield employees.

Of the 2024 grantees, six are based in the United States and together received almost $560,000. An additional seven global organizations received nearly $939,000.  The 2024 grantees are:

Achilles International (NYC)
A-Z Children Ltd (Nurture Africa) (Uganda)
Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) (Global)
Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Foundation (Egypt)
Manjushree Vidyapith Inclusion School (India)
Many Hopes (Malawi)
May We Help (Cincinnati, OH)
Project Healthy Minds (NYC)
Red Door Community (NYC)
The Family Center (NYC)
The Matthew Larson Foundation for Pediatric Brain Tumors (Iron Matt) (Franklin Lakes, NJ)
The Pradiya Foundation (Nepal)
The Water Trust (Uganda)

In addition to annual grants, the Deerfield Foundation, together with Deerfield Management, launched in 2022 the Advancium Health Network, a public charity dedicated to eliminating barriers for the advancement of healthcare and to becoming a leading organization in the advancement of health technology and innovation in areas of compelling need. Deerfield Foundation also created, in June 2023, the American Society of Hematology Peter Steelman Scholar Award in honor of former, longtime Deerfield Partner, Peter Steelman. The award supports research focused on acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

About The Deerfield Foundation
An affiliate of Deerfield Management, the Deerfield Foundation is a New York City-based not-for-profit organization whose mission is to strive to improve health, accelerate innovation and promote human equity. Since its inception in 2007, the Foundation has formed numerous partnerships and invested in the advancement of children’s health, from clinics in the South Bronx to Nepal. Funds are provided through employee contributions and directly from Deerfield’s profits.

Deerfield contact:
Elise Wang
[email protected]
Phone: (212) 583-7267

New York, NY —  Nov. 8, 2023 — Sfunga Therapeutics (“Sfunga”), a biotechnology company, and Deerfield Management Company (“Deerfield”), a healthcare investment firm, today announced the publication of data on a novel antifungal molecule AM2-19 in the scientific journal Nature.[i] AM2-19 is a derivative of amphotericin (AmB), rationally designed to mitigate toxicities and optimize antifungal activity. AM2-19, formulated as the development candidate, SF001, received Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) and Fast Track designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2023, and is in Phase 1 clinical development.

Fungal infections cause more than 150 million severe, life-threatening infections that result in about 1.7 million deaths each year globally.[ii] Invasive fungal infections (IFI) typically occur in people with compromised immune systems due to HIV/AIDS, cancer therapies and organ transplants. These infections also occur in people with severe lung disease, including that caused by influenza and SARS CoV-2. Despite this public threat, only four classes of antifungal medicines are available. Each class has known adverse effects with the potential to put patients’ safety and outcomes at risk. AmB is a naturally occurring small molecule, used since the 1950s as a treatment for people with IFI. The drug has a broad spectrum of activity, but AmB causes kidney impairment in about 80 percent of patients, limiting its use.[iii]

“Patients with invasive fungal infections have few available antifungal treatment options that are effective and safe. Sfunga is working to improve patient outcomes by developing a therapy with all of the antifungal properties of AmB, but with much better safety and tolerability,” said Kieren Marr, M.D., M.B.A., FIDSA, Sfunga co-founder and Chief Medical Officer and adjunct professor of medicine and business at Johns Hopkins University. “We are optimistic about the continued clinical development of SF001, the lead compound of the Sfunga pipeline already in Phase 1 clinical development.”

Sfunga was formed in 2019 as a collaborative venture between Martin Burke M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the Nature paper and professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Deerfield.  Clinical development was initiated in 2023, under Marr’s direction. Sfunga has completed SF001’s first in human single-ascending dose study and is poised to begin a multiple-ascending dose study in 2024.

“The innovative development of SF001, published in Nature today, stems from leveraging highly valuable discoveries about the structure and function of AmB,” said James Flynn, Managing Partner, Deerfield Management and Cure^® Founder. “Our collaboration to create Sfunga furthers Deerfield’s commitment to providing tailored funding, infrastructure, and support needed for successful commercial development of novel discoveries that advance health.”

With nearly three decades of experience in healthcare investment, Deerfield generally maintains a 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.

SF001: Rationally designed for optimal safety and efficacy

To develop AM2-19, Burke and his colleagues determined how AmB kills fungi and damages kidney cells using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. They found that AmB’s mechanism for both actions involves creating an extracellular ”sponge” that extracts critical sterol molecules from the membranes of cells. AmB binds to ergosterol in fungi and cholesterol in human kidney cells, ultimately contributing to cellular death.

Additional high-resolution atomic-level analyses provided insights into the binding interactions between AmB and each sterol. The resulting information guided the investigators’ development of AM2-19’s structure and shape as a new molecule that could rapidly extract fungal ergosterol without harmful toxicity to human cells.

In laboratory studies, AM2-19 bound to ergosterol but not cholesterol, demonstrating decreased toxicities, with potent efficacy against pathogenic yeasts and moulds in vitro and in animal studies.

The research reported in Nature received support from Sfunga; the National Institutes of Health under grants 5R01-AI135812-04, R35-GM118185, R01-GM112845 and R01-GM123455, R01-AI063503 and P4-GM136463; and the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust.

Arun M, Soutar C, Zhang J, et al. Tuning sterol extraction kinetics yields a renal sparing polyene antifungal. Nature. 2023. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06710-4.

Fungal Infections Threaten Global Public Health

Fungi are organisms made of one cell, like yeasts, or many cells, such as moulds or mushrooms. Fungi naturally exist in the environment and the human body. The World Health Organization (WHO) designated 19 fungi as priority pathogens in 2022, naming four as critical and of the highest importance to public health: Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida auris, Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans.[iv]

WHO reports that fungal diseases are expanding in their incidence and geographic range globally because of climate change, increased international travel and trade, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, among other factors. Also, both yeasts and moulds are increasingly reported to develop resistance to available antifungals, limiting treatment options and contributing to poor outcomes.

About Sfunga

Sfunga Therapeutics is a cutting-edge biotechnology company dedicated to transforming the treatment of life-threatening fungal infections using a novel approach rooted in structural chemistry. Sfunga was founded under the belief that mechanistic insights enable targeted optimizations of natural products. Today, Sfunga is advancing the first polyene antifungal rationally designed to mitigate toxicities and increase efficacy. For more information, please visit www.sfunga.com.

About Deerfield Management

Deerfield 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, visit www.deerfield.com.

Sfunga contact:

Kieren Marr, M.D., M.B.A., FIDSA [email protected]

Deerfield contact:

Elise Wang [email protected] Phone: (212) 583-7267

Endnotes

[i] Arun M, Soutar C, Zhang J, et al. Tuning sterol extraction kinetics yields a renal sparing polyene antifungal. Nature. 2023. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06710-4.

[ii] Kainz K, Bauer MA, Madeo F, Carmona-Gutierrez D. Fungal infections in humans: the silent crisis. Microb Cell. 2020;7(6):143-145. Published 2020 Jun 1. doi:10.15698/mic2020.06.718.

[iii] Noor A, Preuss CV. Amphotericin B. National Library of Medicine. StatPearls. January 2023. Updated March 24, 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482327/.

[iv] WHO fungal priority pathogens list to guide research, development and public health action. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2022. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/363682/9789240060241-eng.pdf?sequence=1.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – June 8, 2023 – Deerfield Management and the Deerfield Foundation announced today the creation of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Peter Steelman Scholar Award and the first Annual AML Summit in honor of former, longtime Deerfield Partner Peter Steelman. Both efforts aim to further advance research for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

The 2022 inaugural recipient of the ASH Peter Steelman Scholar Award is Simone Riedel, Ph.D. who will be a keynote speaker at the AML Summit. Dr. Riedel currently serves as a doctoral fellow at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Bernt Lab, as part of a team of researchers focused on investigating the role of epigenetic gene regulation in hematopoietic stem cells and their relation to leukemia. More specifically, Dr. Riedel works on a protein called Meningioma-1 (MN1) that, when overexpressed, causes a highly aggressive AML.

The first annual AML Summit will be held on Tuesday, June 13 at Cure®, a healthcare innovation campus in New York City.

Guest speakers at the inaugural AML Summit will include:

• Omar Abdel-Wahab, M.D., Director of the Center for Hematologic Malignancies at Memorial Sloan Kettering;
• Lore Gruenbaum, Ph.D. | Vice President, Therapy Acceleration Program;
• Ross Levine, M.D., Leukemia Specialist & Physician-Scientist, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Chair of The AML Summit;
• Alicia Loffler, former Executive Director of the Innovation and New Ventures Office at Northwestern University;
• Simone Riedel, Ph.D., Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia;

• Ulrich Steidl M.D., Ph.D., Chair of Cell Biology and co-director of the Blood Cancer Institute at Albert Einstein College of Medicine;
• Aaron Viny, M.D., Cancer Care, Hematology at Columbia​.

Each year there are approximately 18,000 new cases of diagnosed AML, with about 126,000 diagnosed prevalent patients per year in total. The AML Summit will bring together thought leaders from across the healthcare ecosystem to advance scientific research and bring us closer to a cure.

About the ASH Peter Steelman Scholar Award

Designed by Deerfield Management and Deerfield Foundation in partnership with ASH, the ASH-Peter Steelman Scholar Award supports exceptional academic research efforts focused on AML, and is part of ASH’s Scholar Award program. For many researchers, the period between the completion of training and the establishment of an independent career can be a perilous and uncertain time. Since 1985, the ASH Scholar Award program has helped ease this difficult transition by providing support during that critical period required for the completion of training and achievement of status as an independent investigator.

Dr. Riedel and future recipients of the award will receive an extensive benefits package from the Deerfield Foundation, including:

• Complete funding support to participate in the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting.
• A yearly invitation and a travel stipend to participate in Deerfield Management’s AML Summit.
• A designated research presentation slot at the AML Summit.
• Biannual meetings with Deerfield Management’s Oncology Working Group, a team of oncology-focused colleagues spanning science and investment.
• Ongoing collaboration with Deerfield Management personnel that focuses on the translation of innovation to a commercially viable therapeutic.
• (For female recipients), ongoing access to Deerfield and Advancium Health Networks Women in Science Translational Research Symposia.

About Peter Steelman

The award was named in honor of former Deerfield Management Partner, Peter Steelman, who will always be remembered as a genuinely kind person who accepted everyone on their own terms. He was a hard worker and a great team player. Peter was devoted to supporting his family (his wife Sara and three boys, Grant, Trent and Kurt) and ensuring they had every opportunity that he could provide. Peter enjoyed going to the beach, running and keeping fit, traveling, and spending time in New York City. While at Deerfield, he was instrumental in the creation of Deerfield’s academic network, which today spans nearly 30 of the country’s most prestigious institutions. Peter will always be missed and forever remembered.  

“We are proud to offer this award in memory of former friend and Deerfield colleague, Peter Steelman, who, throughout his life and career, was a passionate advocate of Deerfield’s mission to advance healthcare,” said Jim Flynn, Managing Partner of Deerfield Management and Cure® Founder. “We thank ASH for its partnership and are honored to name Dr. Riedel as the first recipient. We hope our support of the field will bring us closer to a cure for this difficult and painful disease.”

About The Deerfield Foundation

An affiliate of Deerfield Management, the Deerfield Foundation is a New York City-based not-for-profit organization whose mission is to strive to improve health, accelerate innovation and promote human equity. Since its inception in 2007, the Foundation has formed numerous partnerships and invested in the advancement of children’s health, from clinics in the South Bronx to Nepal. Funds are provided through employee contributions and directly from Deerfield’s profits.

About Deerfield Management

Deerfield 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.

Media Contact

Caroline Drucker

[email protected]

917-588-3016

NEW YORK, June 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — NYU Langone Health and Deerfield Management Company, a healthcare investment firm, today announced the launch of a research and development collaboration designed to accelerate the commercialization of biomedical discoveries. 

Through a newly formed company called Amethyst Innovations, LLC, Deerfield has committed up to $130 million over the next 10 years, along with additional scientific and operational support, including access to the Deerfield-founded Women in Science program, to advance the translation of NYU Langone’s cutting-edge biomedical research in a broad range of areas.

“NYU Langone has a strong track record of producing groundbreaking therapeutics that have improved the lives of millions of patients globally,” said Marc Sedam, vice president of Technology Opportunities & Ventures, which oversees the commercialization of NYU Langone’s research outputs. “This collaboration will give our researchers new options to bring promising biomedical innovations into treatments and cures that will address some of the world’s most pressing health issues. We’re particularly encouraged by the close proximity of Deerfield’s Cure facility, just a few blocks away from NYU Langone, offering a unique opportunity for our researchers to benefit from regular conversations and engagement with Deerfield’s scientists and other companies in the ecosystem.”

One highlight of this collaboration is access to the Women in Science Translational Research Symposium, which was initially developed by Deerfield in 2019 and is now part of Advancium Health Network. NYU Langone’s female researchers will be able to participate in this program, which is aimed at supporting diverse perspectives in the business of healthcare. The program’s goal is to provide critical support, knowledge and expertise for the commercialization process of therapeutics and provide a community for interactions so that women scientists have a greater likelihood of translating their work to commercial success.

“Deerfield is committed to supporting academic research to provide the capital, infrastructure, and support needed for successful commercial entry,” said James Flynn, managing partner of Deerfield Management and Cure® Founder. “NYU has a strong history in research and discovery and we feel this is a great opportunity for both organizations to combine our strengths, advance meaningful research work, and streamline the path from discovery to patient.”

“We are thrilled Deerfield Management and NYU Langone Health are partnering to drive cutting-edge biomedical research and innovation that will lead to groundbreaking treatments, cures, and healthcare technologies in New York City,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation President & CEO Andrew Kimball. “We look forward to continuing to support our partners to solidify our city’s place at the forefront of the life sciences industry and support the next generation of talent through this strategic partnership.”

Amethyst Innovations, LLC, a private company wholly owned by affiliates of Deerfield Management, will support NYU Langone research projects in various stages of drug exploration and development. Technology Opportunities & Ventures will be responsible for managing the engagement with Deerfield and working with NYU Langone’s scientific leadership to select projects. The collaboration will lean heavily on the pipeline of projects out of NYU Langone’s well-established internal drug accelerator, Therapeutics Alliances, which identifies and de-risks high-potential biomedical research projects. Accepted proposals will receive a development plan aimed at achieving Investigational New Drug (IND) readiness. Selected projects will also be eligible for additional funding for startup creation. Potential conflicts of interest that arise in the course of this collaboration will be evaluated, managed, or mitigated in accordance with NYU Langone policies and procedures.

Under the terms of the agreement, Amethyst Innovations, LLC would receive an option to license Amethyst Innovations-funded intellectual property developed at NYU Langone.

ABOUT NYU LANGONE HEALTH
NYU Langone Health is one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, ranked No. 1 in New York and No. 3 in the country on U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals.” Their trifold mission to serve, teach, and discover is achieved daily through an integrated academic culture devoted to excellence in patient care, education, and research.

NYU Langone’s visionary team is at the forefront of scientific inquiry into pioneering innovations and medical therapies. The institution is among the nation’s top research universities receiving National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and NYU Langone faculty include many of the world’s leading experts who are guiding the future of biomedical research.

ABOUT DEERFIELD MANAGEMENT
Deerfield 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.

Media Contact:
Anthony Karamourtopoulos
[email protected]

SOURCE Deerfield Management Company, L.P.

NEW YORK, April 3, 2023 — Deerfield Management Company, a healthcare investment firm and Advancium Health Network, a public charity dedicated to eliminating barriers to the advancement of healthcare, today announced the grant recipients and winners of the third annual XSeed Award. The winners will each receive a $250,000 grant to support business growth.  Founded in 2019, The XSeed Award supports women- and minority-led life science startups in New York City to help address critical funding gaps and bridge promising translational research to the marketplace and commercial success.

The award ceremony will take place today at the Cure® healthcare innovation campus and include remarks from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). To watch the award ceremony, join the Deerfield Management LinkedIn live stream using this link.

“We are thrilled for this year’s grant recipients. We know that life sciences researchers and entrepreneurs face real hurdles when working to commercialize translational research; the XSeed Award seeks to support women- and minority-led companies in New York to grow opportunity for them and the city,” said Mark Veich, President, Advancium Health Network “This program illustrates the strong commitment and collaboration taking place across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors in New York City to create a stronger, more diverse life sciences ecosystem.”

The winners of the 2023 year’s program are:

• Rohini Kalvakuntla, Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer, Helex: A pre-clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel 3D genome structures and epigenetics-driven in vivo gene editing therapeutics for greater precision, with a focus on retinal dystrophies
• Chidiebere Awah M.D., Ph.D., Principal Investigator, UTR Therapeutics, Inc. and Genome Engineering Postdoctoral Fellow with Olorunseun O. Ogunwobi, M.D., Ph.D., at Hunter College of The City University of New York. UTR Therapeutics is developing a breakthrough technology platform to change how we treat cancer. The platform can overwrite and control oncogenic transcript of undruggable c-MYC and HER2 by engineering the 3’UTR and selectively killing cancer over expressing it, including metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The award winners presented their submissions to the XSeed Leadership Panel, including:

• Claire Pomeroy, M.D., President and CEO of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation
• Nancy Thornberry, Founding CEO at Kallyope, Inc.
• Elise Wang, Partner at Deerfield Management
• Joseph Pearlberg, M.D., Ph.D., Vice President of Scientific Affairs at Deerfield Management
• H.C. Huang, Ph.D., Senior Director, Deerfield Discovery and Development
• Jennifer Laird, VP, Search & Evaluation –Neuroscience at Eli Lilly

“The XSeed Award program continues to reinforce the immense and diverse talent pool that exists in New York City’s life sciences sector,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President and CEO Andrew Kimball. “Across all of EDC’s priority innovation industries, including biotech, we are focused on creating pathways for diverse entrepreneurs. We look forward to watching UTR Therapeutics, Inc. and Helex grow the City’s life sciences ecosystem in the years to come.” 

In addition to the grant funding, XSeed Award winners receive access to the Cure innovation campus, which includes invitations to special events and networking opportunities. Cure offers state-of-the-art laboratory and office space to its residents and is currently home to nearly 20 healthcare-focused companies. Awardees also become part of their own cohort which was designed to help educate on best-practices, bolster professional networks, and raise company visibility.

“New York City must be a leader in life sciences, and I commend Deerfield Management and the New York City Economic Development Corporation for their collaboration that has propelled innovation and strengthened the industry locally. I extend warm congratulations to Rohini Kalvakuntla and Chidiebere Awah on winning the XSeed Award, which will help support meaningful research and work to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes. The XSeed Award ensures that the life sciences industry reflects the great diversity of our city, and supports women and underrepresented populations to improve lives and move life sciences forwards,” said New York City Council Member Carlina Rivera (D-02).

“The XSeed Award will allow Helex’s Rohini Kalvakuntla and UTR Therapeutics’ Chidiebere Awah to make critical advances in the life sciences that will ultimately make New Yorkers and people around the world healthier,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “This award is an invaluable platform for elevating and catalyzing life science startups led by people of marginalized identities. I look forward to seeing how XSeed’s model of awards, mentorship, and network-building help create a more diverse future for the life sciences,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine.

About the XSeed Award

The XSeed Award program will help address a critical funding gap, bridging promising translational research to marketplace and commercial success. Each year Deerfield Management and a panel of industry experts select up to two teams that will be awarded up to $250,000 each. Importantly, in addition to receiving award funding, the winning teams will join a cohort of their fellow awardees. Each winning team has diverse members including women and other underrepresented minorities. Through the XSeed Award cohort, it is anticipated that these startups will bolster their network and significantly raise their visibility. Graduates of each cohort are expected to in turn serve as mentors and coaches for future cohorts, further strengthening the entrepreneurial community in New York City. To learn more about the XSeed Award, visit www.xseedaward.com.

About Deerfield Management

Deerfield 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 Advancium Health Network

Advancium Health Network is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization launched by Deerfield Management dedicated to eliminating barriers to the advancement of healthcare. Our Network includes a pediatric medical device company, CobiCure LLC and life sciences incubator, Cure Innovation Labs. For more information on Advancium Health Network, visit: https://advanciumhealth.org/.

Media Contact:

Anthony Karamourtopoulos

[email protected]

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – March 29, 2023 – Deerfield Management Company, a New York City-based healthcare investment firm, announced today that the State of New York and Empire State Development (“ESD”) will provide $25 million in grant funding to its subsidiary, Deerfield Discovery and Development LLC,  over five years to support the development of a next-generation pilot Lab of the Future (the “Lab”) for early-stage drug discovery.

The 6,000-square-foot lab will function as an automated research facility, leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics to conduct preclinical drug development experiments with improved speed, precision, and cost-efficiency. Among other features, it will consist of a proprietary virtual screening platform and automated compound synthesis, purification, and testing capabilities.

“Since founding the Cure campus, our goals have always been to strengthen New York’s health care ecosystem, inspire collaboration, and contribute to global health innovations,” said James Flynn, Managing Partner, Deerfield Management. “This initiative provides us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to radically improve drug discovery efforts and provide a new platform for the industry. We are extremely grateful for the support of ESD and look forward to engaging the community in this effort.”

Developed and managed by Deerfield Management, the Lab of the Future will be located within The Maxine and Stuart Frankel Laboratories operated by Cure Innovation Labs, a non-profit incubator for post-seed and pre-Series A start-ups in life sciences and therapeutics. Deerfield founded the healthcare innovation campus, Cure® at 345 Park Avenue South in New York City.

“The technology behind Lab of the Future has the potential to set a new standard for early-stage research in the life sciences and shift market dynamics that are hindering progress in the U.S.,” said Michael Foley, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Deerfield Discovery and Development. “This is a tremendous opportunity for New York to promote economic growth and create a lasting impact on science and medicine. Initially, the pilot lab is expected to bring profound benefits to academic researchers collaborating with Deerfield, Cure residents, including incubator companies in the Cure Innovation Labs, and Deerfield partners working toward life-saving therapeutics. Longer term, our goal is to make this technology broadly available across the drug development and health care spectrum.”

To help capture the commercial potential of the Lab, the State of New York and ESD will fund 50% of the $50M project. The funding will directly support the purchase of essential science equipment. It will also support software and technology development (including customization, product testing, etc.), in addition to the hiring of experts in technology and preclinical development. The Lab is expected to encourage growth in New York’s life sciences ecosystem and job market. It is also expected to enable U.S. workforce participation in critical drug development activities that are currently being outsourced overseas.

“This investment in Deerfield’s Lab of the Future will help our state secure its standing as a hub for growth, innovation, and breakthroughs in the life sciences and help reshore vital drug research back to the U.S.,” Governor Hochul said.  “Deerfield’s life-saving clinical research and advanced drug discoveries will fuel business activity, grow and strengthen our workforce, and bring the next generation of medicine to New York State. Support for the life sciences is critical to building a modern economy, and my administration remains committed to boosting the key industries and job creators that will move New York forward.”

Select components of the Lab’s technology platform, including software services, are expected to be operational by as early as 2024. A fully functioning and fully integrated prototype of the Lab is expected to be available by 2025. Upon successful completion of the five-year pilot program at Cure®, Deerfield plans to replicate the Lab of the Future’s synthesis, screening, and software services through a full-scale commercial operation located at another location within New York State.

About Deerfield Management

Deerfield 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 Empire State Development

Empire State Development (ESD) is New York’s chief economic development agency. The mission of ESD is to promote a vigorous and growing economy, encourage the creation of new job and economic opportunities, increase revenues to the State and its municipalities, and achieve stable and diversified local economies. Using loans, grants, tax credits and other forms of financial assistance, ESD strives to enhance private business investment and growth to spur job creation and support prosperous communities across New York State. ESD is also the primary administrative agency overseeing the New York State Regional Economic Development Councils and the marketing of “I LOVE NY,” the State’s iconic tourism brand. For more information on Regional Councils and Empire State Development, visit www.regionalcouncils.ny.gov and www.esd.ny.gov.

Media Contact:

Caroline Drucker

[email protected]

(917) 588-3016

SAN FRANCISCO, March 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Invitae (NYSE: NVTA), a leading medical genetics company, and Deerfield Management Company, a healthcare investment firm, today announced a partnership to advance genetics-based drug discovery and development in rare disease. The partnership will leverage genetics and clinical data from millions of patients and Deerfield’s broad drug discovery and development expertise.

“Invitae’s core objectives include expanding access to genetic information to improve healthcare for patients. Through this partnership, we intend to serve millions of families affected by rare diseases with high unmet needs,” said Farid Vij, general manager of patient network and data at Invitae. “Our genetic and clinical data platform is highly enriched with patients possessing rare disorders, enabling a deeper understanding of the natural history and genetic basis of these diseases, and improving the success rate of new clinical programs.”

“Despite significant research efforts, there are thousands of rare diseases without a line of sight toward a viable therapeutic intervention,” said Matt Nelson, head of genetics and genomics at Deerfield Management. “Invitae’s unique data and analytics capabilities position it to interrogate genetic effects on rare and many other diseases. With Deerfield’s extensive experience in rare diseases and drug discovery, we believe there is strong potential for this partnership to uncover valuable patient insights and create important therapies for a range of currently untreatable conditions.” 

Precision medicine offers great promise to address unmet needs of rare disease patients, but to be successful, scientists need access to focused genetic and clinical data across sizable patient populations. For rare diseases, these data are hard to find. For example, large scale genetic biobanks have been valuable for driving forward research, but they, at times, leave rare disease researchers searching for additional data on symptomatic and diverse patients. 

Invitae and Deerfield aim to address notable research gaps by drawing insights from Invitae’s data platform, which includes sizable cohorts of rare disease patients. The companies will collaborate to analyze data from the over 3.6 million genetic tests delivered by Invitae linked to longitudinal clinical data, strictly in accordance with patients’ preferences for sharing of their data. With these data and analytics expertise, together Invitae and Deerfield will be well-suited to uncover insights needed to discover and validate novel rare disease targets.

“Both large and small biopharma companies are constantly seeking ways to improve efficiency and success rates in their discovery and development programs. This partnership demonstrates how Invitae can support biopharma partners in discovering and validating new precision therapies,” said Daniel Anderson, head of patient network and data partnerships at Invitae. “Beyond the opportunity to deliver new medicines together with the Deerfield team, this partnership further substantiates the many ways our unique datasets and analytical capabilities can create value.” 

About Invitae
Invitae (NYSE: NVTA) is a leading medical genetics company trusted by millions of patients and their providers to deliver timely genetic information simplified by digital technology. With accurate and actionable answers to strengthen medical decision-making, Invitae gives individuals and their families powerful, personalized insights that could improve and extend their lives. Invitae’s genetics experts apply a rigorous approach to data and research, serving as the foundation of their mission to bring comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medicine to improve healthcare for billions of people.

To learn more, visit invitae.com and follow for updates on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn @Invitae.

About Deerfield Management
Deerfield 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, visit www.deerfield.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the company’s goals with respect to the partnership; the intended structure and potential benefits of the partnership; the company’s intentions regarding the number of families that the partnership will serve; the company’s beliefs regarding the capabilities of its data platform; the company’s beliefs that the partnership may uncover valuable patient insights and create important new therapies; and the company’s belief that this partnership demonstrates how its unique datasets and analytical capabilities can create value. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to:  the impact of inflation and the current economic environment on the company’s business; the company’s ability to grow its business in a cost-efficient manner; the company’s history of losses; the company’s ability to maintain important customer relationships; the company’s ability to compete; the company’s need to scale its infrastructure in advance of demand for its tests and to increase demand for its tests; the applicability of clinical results to actual outcomes; risks associated with litigation; the company’s ability to use rapidly changing genetic data to interpret test results accurately and consistently; security breaches, loss of data and other disruptions; laws and regulations applicable to the company’s business; and the other risks set forth in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks set forth in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and Invitae Corporation disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Invitae PR contact: 
Amy Hadsock
[email protected] 
(628) 213-3283

Deerfield PR contact: 
Caroline Drucker
[email protected] 
(917) 588-3016