The private equity group Symphony Capital Partners has agreed to invest $50 million into a new research unit with Dynavax Technologies. Emblematic of some of the more creative financing deals to hit biotech recently, Dynavax will grant intellectual property to the entity--Symphony Dynamo--while holding an option to buy some or all of the cancer and hepatitis research it undertakes. "It will enable us to continue to focus critical resources on advancing our lead programs in ragweed allergy and hepatitis B vaccines and provide additional minimally dilutive funding for investment in our early-stage, second-generation programs," said Dynavax CEO Dino Dina. "This approach should allow us to build additional value in our pipeline and expand our partnering opportunities, all in a risk-reduced manner."
- here's the release for more information