Pfizer Spins Off New Firm for Some Rare Disease Drugs
- Drugmaker to license four products to the spinoff, SpringWorks
- Other investors in $103 million funding round include Bain
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Pfizer Inc. will spin off four experimental drugs that it had decided to shelve into a new company, called SpringWorks Therapeutics, to give them a better chance to get developed with the backing of outside investors including Bain Capital.
Three of the drugs are for rare diseases, including two that are ready to be tested in late-stage trials. Being part of SpringWorks will help them get approved to treat undeserved populations, said Lara Sullivan, the new company’s president. Some biotechnology firms, including Tesaro Inc. and Puma Biotechnology Inc., have had success acquiring and developing once-shelved drugs.