PRINCETON, N.J., February 2, 2012 — Covance Inc. (NYSE: CVD) today announced the signing of a three-year, exclusive integrated drug development agreement with BioPontis Alliance to manage early development of scientific discoveries from academia. The agreement provides that Covance will be the exclusive provider to BioPontis Alliance of drug development services, including discovery support, preclinical, bioanalytical, CMC, clinical, central labs and commercialization.
Sourcing discovery science through collaborative relationships with leading research universities and other institutions, BioPontis Alliance identifies and develops early stage discoveries and technologies, providing the medical industry with efficient access to preclinical innovation. In this unique early development model, Covance will integrate and manage the services required to move a compound from lead optimization into the clinic, providing the scientific and operational continuity that reduces the feasibility gap between academic intellectual property and human proof of concept.
“Designing customized solutions that meet the unique needs of each client is the hallmark of our partnering philosophy,” said John Watson, Chief Commercial Officer and President, Strategic Partnering, Covance. “This collaboration creates a new way for Covance to leverage our scientific expertise and broad portfolio of drug development services to advance the promising science of academia and deliver greater medical innovation to the biopharmaceutical industry.”
“Critical to accelerating the availability of industry-ready compounds was the selection of a development partner who possessed the scientific, medical and regulatory expertise to provide end-to-end drug development services,” said Richard Basile, CEO and Principal of BioPontis Alliance. “We are excited to take this unprecedented step forward with Covance as our translational development partner. Together, with our university and industry partners, we have established a new development model to fuel biopharma’s early stage pipeline and accelerate the availability of new medicines.”
About Covance
Covance, with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, is one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive drug development services companies with annual revenues greater than $2 billion, global operations in more than 30 countries, and more than 11,000 employees worldwide. Information on Covance’s products and services, recent press releases, and SEC filings can be obtained through its website at http://www.covance.com.
About BioPontis Alliance LLC
BioPontis Alliance LLC is an asset-based investment capital fund combined with a research and development company, a novel business model built to address the crisis of the eroding basis for new therapeutic products in the fields of oncology, neurology, inflammation and infectious diseases. BioPontis Alliance has unique agreements for economic and scientific sharing with leading biomedical academic research institutions from which novel discoveries are selected and has aligned its scientific development engine with leading pharmaceutical companies. BioPontis Alliance is based in Raleigh NC with additional locations on the East coast. Learn more about BioPontis Alliance at www.biopontisalliance.com
