The partnership between GlaxoSmithKline and Avalon Ventures launched three early-stage life science companies. Adrenergics, CadheRx Therapeutics and Calporta Therapeutics will each receive up to €8.9M in a Series A financing, aside from support from their two godfathers.
Three new companies were launched today as a result of Avalon’s fruitful collaboration with GSK. The partnership, which aims at funding and promoting up to 10 early-stage life science businesses, is at halfway with these three new creations. Adrenergics, CadheRx Therapeutics and Calporta Therapeutics bring the total number of outcomes of the collaboration in just two years to six.
The three companies will be located at Avalon’s incubator in San Diego. Adrenergics will focus on cardiomyopathies, whereas CadheRx and Calporta will target solid tumors and Niemann-Pick C Disease, respectively.
The fertile collaboration was established back in April 2013 and will provide up to €439.7M to fund companies through preclinical proof of concept. The previous companies launched through the collaboration include Sitari Pharmaceuticals, Silarus Therapeutics and Thyritope Biosciences.
GSK’s game is a clever one, as the UK giant has the option to acquire each of the companies upon the identification of a clinical candidate. However, if Glaxo decided to pass and not to exercise its option on the companies, Avalon would have the possibility to continue by itself with the projects.