Challenge:
A venture capital portfolio company developing small molecule therapeutics for metabolic/obesity indications had made the strategic decision to supplement their internal product pipeline with complementary assets and expand beyond their current programs under development. Alacrita was asked to search for and evaluate assets at a stage of development from post-HTS to within 12 months of an IND. The client was primarily interested in small molecules, but other modalities such as peptides, proteins, and antibodies were also of interest. Specific gene targets of interest were also provided by the client to aid in the effort.
Solution:
Alacrita conducted a 3-month scouting engagement utilizing a two-pronged sequential strategy to identify a stream of opportunities for further evaluation: 1) a commercial pipeline database search followed by 2) a search of technology licensing office, grant, patent, and scientific literature databases to identify additional opportunities not included in our subscription commercial database. Our initial search identified over 2,000 potential candidate assets, but our secondary searches did not add a significant number of assets not already described in our initial search. Nevertheless, we narrowed the target list to 450 assets that met the client’s search criteria and, after further evaluation, we contacted 115 companies seeking non-confidential slide decks describing 135 assets. After further filtering, we presented the client with a shortlist of 30 potential licensing opportunities, 20 of which led to further partnering discussions.
Learn more about our endocrine and metabolic expertise
We regularly consult with clients developing CNS therapeutics, as well as advise investors and BD teams on individual assets, pipelines and companies in this field. For more details on our expertise, please visit the below page or reach out.
Explore Our Asset Scouting & In-Licensing Services
Alacrita supports both large pharma and biotech companies with their search and evaluation activities. Our asset scouting support is often structured to integrate with the client’s internal efforts, resulting in a constant flow of new opportunities.