Celgene enters Triphase with $40m

Triphase Accelerator, a Canada-based oncological treatment accelerator backed by commercialisation agency Fight Against Cancer Innovation Trust (Facit), is to receive $40m upfront under a business development pact with drug maker Celgene.
Facit provides funding to advance local oncological projects including spinouts and is allied to the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.
Under the partnership, Triphase Accelerator will fund proof-of-concept clinical trials of its precision TRPH-395 therapy in blood cancer indications, which recognises specific DNA hallmarks of blood cancer cells to avoid damaging healthy tissues, often a problematic side-effect of conventional radiation and chemotherapies.
TRPH-395 is based on so-called epigenetic DNA changes resulting from externally-derived shifts in gene expression rather than from mutations within the DNA code itself.
Celgene has an option to purchase the drug outright from Triphase for $940m, and Triphase would receive royalties if it reaches the market.
Triphase has so far invested approximately $2.4m in pre-clinical studies on TRPH-395 and expects to begin the clinical trials in approximately two years time.
The company was launched by Facit and commercialisation firm Mars Innovation in 2010 with a biotech development model but moved towards an accelerator-style setup four years later, focused on acquiring early oncological projects and progressing them until they reach clinical proof-of-concept stage.
Celgene’s relationship with Triphase dates back to 2012, when the pair entered an agreement handing Celgene first refusal rights on the first three products Triphase generated.
Assets purchased under the arrangement to date have included marizomib, a clinical-stage proteasome inhibitor program targeting glioblastoma and relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma that has generated Triphase $35m in milestone payments since 2016.