Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Janssen), one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, has acquired XO1 Limited, a privately held asset-centric virtual biopharmaceutical company founded to develop the anti-thrombin antibody ichorcumab. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Ichorcumab is a recombinant human antibody developed to mimic the activity of a human antibody which appears to produce an anticoagulated state without predisposition to bleeding.
"Ichorcumab provides an excellent complement to the Janssen cardiovascular portfolio," said Peter DiBattiste, M.D., global development head, cardiovascular, Janssen Research & Development, LLC. "Given Janssen's leadership in the fields of anticoagulation and biologics, we are well positioned to explore the potential of this next generation anticoagulant."
The opportunity was identified and facilitated through Johnson & Johnson Innovation, London. "This acquisition illustrates how our global innovation strategy enables a local, hands-on approach that supports the regional life science ecosystems, provides Janssen a window on the most exciting science around the world and provides access to potentially breakthrough products in areas of strategic interest," said Patrick Verheyen, head, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, London.
Ichorcumab was initially developed by Cambridge University Hospitals and Cambridge University with support from Cambridge Enterprise, the University's commercialization arm. The technology was licensed by Cambridge Enterprise to XO1 Limited in order to take its development towards the clinic. XO1 Limited was established by Index Ventures as an asset centric company, a model advanced by Index, via a fund launched in 2012 in which Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc. is an investor.
The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson are dedicated to addressing and solving the most important unmet medical needs of our time, including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (e.g., diabetes and thrombosis), immunology (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis), infectious disease (e.g., HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and tuberculosis), neuroscience (e.g., schizophrenia, dementia and pain) and oncology (e.g., multiple myeloma and prostate cancer).