Quanticel, Celgene and Versant enter collaboration to discover and develop first-in-class cancer drugs

Privately held biotechnology company Quanticel Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG), together with Versant Ventures, today announced they have entered into an exclusive, strategic collaboration to discover and develop first-in-class cancer drugs.  

Under the terms of the agreement, Celgene will commit $45M to Quanticel during the initial three-and-a-half-year alliance term with the ability to extend the collaboration in exchange for additional funding.  Celgene will also take an equity stake in Quanticel and will retain an exclusive option to acquire the company.

During the collaboration, Quanticel will utilize its platform to conduct single-cell genomic analysis of patient tumor samples and to identify predictive biomarkers for Celgene investigational drugs.  Quanticel will also leverage its platform to perform independent drug discovery to generate its own drug candidates, and Celgene will have the ability to access this pipeline through its acquisition option.

"We all share a sense of urgency to create truly meaningful cancer medicines, and understand that new strategies that address all tumor cell populations are required for effective therapy," said Stephen Kaldor, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at Quanticel.  "Celgene's global research and development capabilities plus the long-term financial commitment to Quanticel enable us to rapidly build the research and development applications of our platform, and to accelerate the potential growth of our pipeline."

"Quanticel's platform approach provides a unique advantage for defining mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance, and for validating and pursuing novel targets for difficult-to-treat cancers," said Thomas Daniel, M.D., President, Global Research and Early Development at Celgene.  "We view this scientific collaboration and this business model as an innovative approach with high potential to advance the delivery of impactful cancer drugs to patients in need."

The collaboration utilizes an innovative funding structure between Quanticel, Celgene and Versant Ventures.  Versant and Celgene have worked together to capitalize Quanticel at an early juncture, providing Versant with a strategic partner and potential acquirer, and Celgene with early and exclusive access to an R&D engine capable of fostering breakthrough therapies for patients at an accelerated pace.

"Aligning our financing strategy to create a start-up that supports the needs of a pre-eminent global biopharmaceutical company such as Celgene should build even greater value and liquidity than the traditional biotech venture approach," said Bradley Bolzon, Ph.D., Managing Director, Versant Ventures.