Dana-Farber joins MPM Capital for $100m cancer fund

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has launched a $100m oncology-focused venture fund to help foster its early-stage cancer research, FierceBiotech reported today.
MPM Oncology Innovations Fund is part-managed by healthcare-focused investment firm MPM Capital, however its limited partners were not disclosed.
The fund is expected to back around 15 cancer-related startups, investing around half of its corpus in Dana-Farber projects. Under the agreement, MPM will have right of first offer to license certain institute technologies.
Dana-Farber previously teamed up with MPM-founded business CoStim Pharmaceuticals to identify immuno-oncology drug targets. The collaboration is regarded as a success, as pharmaceutical firm Novartis purchased the business in 2014.
In addition, the duo unveiled a $26m philanthropy-funded vehicle called Dana-Farber Innovations Research Fund to exclusively back emerging concepts from the institute.
Donors from Dana-Farber Innovations Research Fund were invited to also back MPM Oncology Innovations, though it is unclear to what extent the offer was exercised.
A shortlist of Dana-Farber research projects is being prepared to spin out for the fund’s backing, under the oversight of both MPM and Dana-Farber’s tech transfer office, Belfer Office for Dana-Farber Innovations.