Please Click here to create a profile and access the presentation material for Ancora’s Information Session on the Exploratory Biologics Initiative held earlier this year.
On April 6, 2018, Vanderbilt University and Deerfield Management announced the launch of Ancora Innovation, a collaboration focused on the union of Vanderbilt’s innovative life science discovery efforts and Deerfield’s commitment to accelerating state-of-the-art drug development. Deerfield will fund Ancora Innovation with up to $65 million to pursue novel therapeutics and will provide additional capital to fund successful start-up companies that spin out of Ancora.
Deerfield is a healthcare investment management firm committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy. For more information, please visit www.deerfield.com.
Vanderbilt University researchers are at the forefront of discovery, innovation, scholarship, and creative expression. Our mission is to promote Vanderbilt’s distinctive research culture, which aspires to improve the human condition.
Ken is Vice President for Technology Transfer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Medical Director
for the Vanderbilt University Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization, and Associate
Professor of Anesthesiology and Medicine. Ken has served as the Vanderbilt representative on the
Board of Directors for Cumberland Emerging Technologies (a division of Cumberland Pharmaceuticals),
Human Vaccines Project, Informatics Corporation of America, DigiChart, Acuitec, Friends in Global
Read More
Mike joined Vanderbilt University in September 2011 to head up the Biotech Licensing Team and is
responsible for commercializing therapeutic, medical device and diagnostic technologies through
corporate partnerships. Prior to joining Vanderbilt, he managed the commercialization of technologies
for The Cleveland Clinic and Purdue University. Mike is a seasoned licensing professional with over
15 years of experience bringing early-stage life science and medical device technologies to the
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Gary is the Stevenson Professor of Chemistry at the Vanderbilt University Department of Chemistry,
the Director of the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, and the co-PI of the Vanderbilt Center
for Cancer Drug Discovery (VCCDD). His current research program continues to encompass the study of
complex natural products with an added emphasis on the biology associated with select natural products
and synthetic small molecules. He is currently investigating the development of small molecule
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William Slattery is a Partner, in collaboration with the Deerfield Discovery and Development team and joined
the Firm in 2000. Prior to Deerfield, Mr. Slattery was a senior healthcare analyst for ten years at Amerindo
Investment Advisors, where he oversaw biotechnology investments. He has held various positions in research
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Matthew Nelson, Ph.D., is Vice President, Genetics and Genomics, Deerfield Discovery
and Development, and joined Deerfield in 2019. Prior to Deerfield, Dr. Nelson spent
almost 15 years at GlaxoSmithKline and was most recently the Head of Genetics. Prior to
GlaxoSmithKline, Dr. Nelson was the Director of Biostatistics at Sequenom. He began his
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Margaret is the Alliance Manager for Ancora Innovation. Prior to joining Ancora Innovation, she was
an independent consultant in the oncology sector for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
Margaret previously served as vice president of Portfolio and Product Development at Infinity
Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Infinity, she was a director at Millennium Pharmaceuticals where she
led Cell and Molecular Oncology and was the discovery leader on the VelcadeTM product development team.
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Check back later for future events!
Deerfield Management and Vanderbilt University announce the launch of Ancora Innovation
March 29, 2018
New York City and Nashville, Tenn.–Deerfield Management and Vanderbilt University announced today the launch of Ancora Innovation, LLC (“Ancora”), a Deerfield company that will support Vanderbilt’s innovative life science research and leverage Deerfield’s expertise in accelerating state-of-the-art drug development. Ancora will fund projects with the aim of changing the current paradigm of drug development and establishing novel therapeutics to cure life-altering disease.
Through Ancora, Deerfield will commit up to $65 million to support promising Vanderbilt life sciences research through the development process, provide operational support, and make additional capital investments into any spin-offs that emerge from Ancora projects. Previously, Deerfield has entered into similar arrangements with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard as well as with Johns Hopkins University.
The selection and development of projects by Ancora will be managed through a joint operations committee comprising an equal number of Vanderbilt and Deerfield representatives, who will be responsible for identifying and establishing development plans for the advancement of promising Vanderbilt research programs. The projects that Ancora takes forward will be based on novel biology, targets or insights that have yet to be fully developed and have the ability to be disease-modifying or -curing.
“Vanderbilt has amassed unparalleled research and development capabilities in drug discovery, in part through forging unique collaborations with industry,” said Susan Wente, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Vanderbilt University. “Our collaboration with Deerfield will provide our researchers with the resources and support needed to translate biological insights into technologies that will have real impact on people’s lives.”
Profits from the Deerfield Healthcare Innovations Fund will be donated to the Deerfield Foundation and are expected to be directed towards projects that lack a commercial market but are necessary for medical innovation.
“It is an honor to be collaborating with Vanderbilt, a world-renowned university with superior science and a true focus on research. The ability to speed Vanderbilt discoveries to market while enhancing our ability to support not-for-profit research through the Deerfield Foundation makes this collaboration important and meaningful,” said James Flynn, Managing Partner at Deerfield Management.
“This collaboration enhances Vanderbilt’s core mission of improving the quality of human life through research,” said Padma Raghavan, Vice Provost for Research at Vanderbilt University. “Deerfield is aligned with us in accomplishing this mission, and we look forward to working with them to develop new life-changing and lifesaving therapies.”
“We are excited about this new collaboration, which will provide beneficial support for basic biomedical research as well as a platform to transform the most promising research into new therapies that may change the course for various human diseases,” said Jennifer Pietenpol, Benjamin F. Byrd Professor of Oncology and Professor of Biochemistry and Otolaryngology.
The Vanderbilt community is invited to learn more about Ancora from Vanderbilt and Deerfield at the Ancora launch event at 3 p.m. April 6 in Light Hall, Room 214.
About Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tenn., is a private research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees.
About Deerfield
Deerfield is a healthcare investment firm committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy. For more information, please visit www.deerfield.com
Contacts
Vanderbilt University
Heidi Hall, 615-322-NEWS
heidi.hall@vanderbilt.edu
Deerfield Management Company
Karen Heidelberger, 212-551-1600
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VICB Annual Symposium
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Deerfield Management and Vanderbilt University announce the launch of Ancora Innovation
March 29, 2018
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Therapeutic Antibody Discovery & Development Seminar
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Investigator RFP Information Session
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VICB Annual Symposium
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