Canada-based biotechnology company Northern Biologics has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with pharmaceutical firm Celgene that included a $30m upfront payment.
Northern Biologics will use the funding to discover and develop therapeutics antibodies in oncology and fibrosis. The company will be entitled to additional payments from Celgene to advance its portfolio from the preclinical discovery stage to clinical trials.
Celgene gained options through the deal to license drug candidates from Nothern Biologics, and to acquire the company once the collaboration agreement ends.
A graduate of venture capital firm Versant Ventures-backed biotechnology incubator Blueline Bioscience in June 2014, Northern Biologics was spun-out of work conducted by Sachdev Sidhu at Toronto University, with follow-on research conducted by researchers at University Health Network’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
Versant provided $10m of series A funding for Northern Biologics in October 2014.
Stefan Larson, chief executive of Northern Biologics, said: “Celgene’s financial and scientific contributions will enable us to rapidly progress our therapeutic antibodies to the clinic.”