Avalon, GSK Launch Two New Early-Stage Companies

Avalon Ventures has launched two new companies through its collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Silarus Therapeutics and Thyritope Biosciences. Each will receive as much as $10 million in financing and R&D support from Avalon Ventures and GSK. Both companies will be located at COI Pharmaceuticals in San Diego, an innovation center established by Avalon to provide an R&D facility and operational support to its life science portfolio companies.
 
The collaboration, established in April 2013, will provide as much as $495 million to fund and launch as many as 10 early-stage life science companies. The first company launched, Sitari Pharmaceuticals, was established in November 2013 and targets the Transglutaminase 2 (TG2) pathway for the development of treatments for multiple disease indications, with an initial focus in celiac disease.
 
“Our collaboration with GSK represents a new model for driving early-stage drug discovery,” said Jay Lichter, Ph.D., managing director of Avalon Ventures. “By combining the nimble start-up mentality of Avalon with the unmatched R&D expertise and resources of a global pharmaceutical giant like GSK, in less than 18 months we have launched three new companies in diverse therapeutic areas and completed our first compound screen for drug candidate identification in a robust collaboration with GSK.  This collaboration has exceeded my expectations in terms of what we’ve been able to accomplish on such a short timescale.”
 
“This unique model of bringing venture capital together with academia and big pharma is proving to be a powerful vehicle that is working just as we had hoped, bridging the gap between excellent academic science and the transformational development of medicines that GSK can provide,” said Lon Cardon, senior vice president, Alternative Discovery & Development at GSK.  “From conception of the idea to three new companies in less than 18 months is an unprecedented pace for us and we are achieving our goal of capitalizing on exciting science and at the same time increasing efficiency in drug discovery, which ultimately will benefit patients.”