The world's biggest CRO Quintiles ($Q) and a number of international investors have come together to create a new fund aimed at lightening the cost burden of pharma drug development.
Denver-based Quintiles, the trading Japanese firm Mitsui and overseas investors such as pension fund managers are putting a total of $866 million into the pot, according to a news report from Nikkei.
NovaQuest Capital Management--a Mitsui affiliate created from Quintiles' fund management operations--will run the fund.
Its purpose is to invest in drugs in late-stage drug development with a focus on oncology treatments and CNS disorders. Individual projects could receive up to $200 million, according to Mitsui, with drugmakers paying out if the trials succeed.
A separate payment based on market sales could also be included in some contracts.
This is the second time Mitsui, Quintiles and other investors have created this type of fund. In 2013, the group put $459 million into an investment pot, yielding 10 drug candidates from firms including Takeda and Shionogi.
- see Nikkei's take