Former Merrimack, Sanofi Execs Launch Boston Cancer Startup

Finance

Two former executives of Sanofi and Merrimack Pharmaceuticals have launched Partner Therapeutics, or PTx, to focus on oncology.

Robert Mulroy will act as PTx’s chairman and chief executive officer. Prior to PTx, he was co-founder, chief executive officer and director of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, he was director and chief executive officer of Atlantic Bio.

Mulroy left Merrimack in 2016, right around the time the company was undergoing major restructuring to save cash, including laying off a quarter of its workforce, or slightly over 100 staffers. That was about a year after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its Onivyde (irinotecan liposome injection) for pancreatic cancer. Merrimack was acquired by Ipsen in early 2017 for $575 million.

Debasish Roychowdhury will serve as PTx’s chief medical officer and director. A medical oncologist and biopharma executive, he was most recently chief medical officer of Seragon before it was acquired by Roche. Previous positions included senior vice president and global head of oncology at Sanofi. Prior to Sanofi, he was vice president for clinical development at GlaxoSmithKline, head of the global oncology regulatory group at Eli Lilly and Company.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Roychowdhury has most recently been acting as a consultant, as president of Nirvan Consultants from December 2013 to present. He served on the board of Lytix Biopharma from 2015 to 2016, as a consultant for Synta Pharmaceuticals from 2014 to 2016, and as chief medical officer of Ra Therapeutics in 2014.

Getting a handle on exactly what PTx plans to do is difficult. The company states that it “is focused on the development and commercialization of approved and late-stage therapies. The Boston-area company is committed to supporting patient care with medicines that improve cancer treatment outcomes and reduce the total cost of care.”

“Debasish and I share a passion for improving patient outcomes in the treatment of cancer,” Mulroy said in a statement. “We formed PTx to address gaps in treatment and improve cost effectiveness of cancer care through a mission-driven organization focused on exceptional execution on behalf of patients.”

It does indicate it plans to build its portfolio by buying programs. The company’s website doesn’t provide much more detail.

The company will be leasing headquarters in Lexington, Massachusetts.

“We are committed to building a company that serves as a true partner to improve patient care,” Roychowdhury said in a statement. “We believe PTx can serve as a critical link between the investigators pushing the boundaries of our understanding of cancer and the healthcare professionals working to achieve the best outcomes for each and every patient.”

Which sounds almost as if they expect to act more as consultants than as a biotech company working to develop therapeutics. The company states it “plans to operate as an integrated commercial, development and manufacturing organization,” however.

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