Q: WHAT IS THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY AND DEERFIELD MANAGEMENT COMPANY?
A: Vanderbilt is collaborating with Deerfield, an investment firm dedicated to advancing healthcare, to accelerate the translation of research in Vanderbilt faculty laboratories into clinical therapeutics. Ancora Innovation is a Deerfield company that will support Vanderbilt’s innovative translational research and leverage Deerfield’s expertise in accelerating state-of-the-art drug development. Ancora will fund projects with the aim of discovering novel therapeutics to cure life-altering diseases.
Through Ancora, Deerfield has committed up to $65 million in initial funding to support promising Vanderbilt translational research. This collaboration will provide operational support and may make additional capital investments into spin-off companies that emerge from Ancora projects that show commercial potential.
Q: WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?
A: Principal Investigators whose principal employer is Vanderbilt University or Vanderbilt University Medical Center or who have a faculty appointment at Vanderbilt University or Vanderbilt Medical Center and are therefore subject to Vanderbilt’s institutional policies are eligible to apply.
Q: HOW CAN I APPLY?
A: Applicants are encouraged to contact Margaret Read at margaret.a.read@vanderbilt.edu for more information on submission to Ancora. Once it has been determined the project is ready for formal submission, the applicant will be asked to complete an online Letter of Intent through Ancora’s submission portal.
Q: DOES ANCORA HAVE A THERAPEUTIC AREA OF INTEREST?
A: No – We welcome applications from all therapeutic areas.
Q: CAN I SUBMIT A PROJECT EVEN IF I HAVE A CONTRACT IN PLACE WITH ANOTHER PARTNER?
A: Eligible projects must be free from any Intellectual Property (IP) obligations to other industry partners that may restrict the licensing and practice of the IP (by virtue of industry sponsored research agreements, material transfer agreements, or other contractual or intellectual property entanglements). If you have any questions about whether or not such obligations exist with your project, you should consult Vanderbilt CTTC or Margaret Read (margaret.a.read@vanderbilt.edu)