January 13, 2015
By Krystle Vermes, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Swiss biopharmaceutical company Novartis Pharmaceuticals announced on Jan. 12 that it had established a joint investment company with Qualcomm Ventures, the venture investment segment of Qualcomm, Inc. Approximately $100 million will be put into the initiative to support early stage health companies with products, technologies or services that “go beyond the pill.”
“By working with Qualcomm Ventures, Novartis sees the opportunity to take a greater leadership role in introducing new mobile or digital technologies that have the potential to change the practice of medicine and bring more breakthroughs with real benefits to patients and society,” said David Epstein, division head at Novartis Pharmaceuticals. “We are excited by the potential of digital medicines to further enhance our mission of the right drug for the right patient at the right time helping people live longer with a better quality of life giving more time to do the things that matter to them.”
Novartis’ innovation in research, development and manufacturing alongside Qualcomm’s expertise in digital and mobile technologies is expected to fuel the initiative. The goal of the joint investment company is to take a closer look at the emerging technology that is enabling the delivery of the right medicine to the right patients.
Novartis Highlights Recent Success
On Dec. 2, Novartis announced that it would be highlighting 250 abstracts at the American Society of Hematology’s annual meeting and the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The presentations demonstrated advances in blood and breast cancer research.
“Novartis continues to pioneer innovative therapies across our broad and diverse portfolio as we work to improve the lives of patients living with cancer,” said Alessandro Riva, global head at the Novartis Oncology Department and Medical Affairs.
The University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and Novartis have exclusively collaborated to research, develop and commercialize chimeric antigen receptor cell therapies for the treatment of cancers. Key data pertaining to CAR therapy CTL019 was presented at the ASH meeting. Data pertaining to combination therapy that targets multiple cancer pathways was also shown at the event.
Novartis has a diversified portfolio that looks at innovative medicines, eye care, cost-saving genetic pharmaceuticals, preventative vaccines and over-the-counter health products for both humans and animals. In 2013, the company achieved $57.9 in net sales.
