Purdue University’s non-profit tech transfer arm has received over $100 million by selling the royalty stream for a novel prostate cancer therapy developed at the university.
Known as Pluvicto, the radioligand therapy is designed to treat patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who’ve found no success with prior therapies. It is also being developed as an treatment in earlier stages of prostate cancer.
The Purdue Research Foundation received the $100 million as part of a royalty interest agreement with investment firm Blue Owl Capital. The royalty stream Blue Owl purchased comes from Purdue’s license agreement with Endocyte Corp., which was acquired by Novartis in 2018. The university will use the funds to support the development of other potentially live-saving therapies.
“We feel privileged that the agreement with Blue Owl further strengthens Purdue’s ability to support Purdue researchers and alumni through enhanced commercialization programs and funding opportunities,” says Brooke Beier, senior vice president of Purdue Innovates, the university’s venture arm. “Pluvicto is one example of successful intellectual property protection, licensing and, ultimately, commercialization that we hope will unlock the potential for many more Purdue technologies to make an impact.”
Blue Owl’s Sandip Agarwala, managing director and global head of life sciences, noted that “royalty transactions are a key component of Blue Owl’s broad and flexible investment strategy in the life sciences, and we see Pluvicto as a paradigm-shifting therapy for the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer with blockbuster potential.”
Purdue President Mung Chiang said the royalty interest agreement strengthens the university’s global reputation in several ways.
“First, the income will add funds for leading-edge research and development of life-saving pharmaceuticals,” he said, while also underscoring the impact of legendary innovator Philip Low, whose lab initiated the research that led to the Pluvicto. “And this latest success of Purdue invention demonstrates the promises of Purdue Innovates, the initiative that Purdue and PRF launched this month to further support Boilermaker inventors and entrepreneurs,” Chiang added.
Source: GlobeNewswire
IP Monetization Strategies: Understanding the Buyer’s Perspective and Negotiating for Better Deal Terms is an inexpensive distance learning collection focused how to shore up your negotiation strategies and achieve better deals that maximize your IP’s value. Click here for more details.
