Three years after bringing Jaguar Gene Therapy out of stealth, Deerfield Management is leading the funding of a manufacturing spinout from the Illinois company.
Deerfield, with the help of ARCH Venture Partners and Nolan Capital, is backing a new company—Advanced Medicine Partners—which was formerly responsible for Jaguar’s chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC).
The new firm seeks to provide best-in-class development of advanced medicines, including gene and cell therapies, addressing quality and scaling issues that have hindered new treatments. The management and technical teams have directed the CMC work of several approved products, including three gene therapies.
In a release, CEO Andrew Knudten touted the experience of Advanced Medicine Partners’ genetic medicines team, which has manufactured roughly 350 non-GMP batches and supplied more than 20 preclinical studies.
“With so many biotechnology companies being slowed or halted due to manufacturing challenges including product quality and scalability, we have the experienced people and technology to deliver what’s acutely needed right now—therapeutic product with purity and potency levels that exceed expectations of partnering companies and regulators,” Knudten said.
In addition to performing contract work, Advanced Medicine Partners will continue to lead the CMC efforts of Jaguar, which is developing treatments for genetic disorders including autism, Type 1 diabetes and Type 1 galactosemia.
Advanced Medicine Partners is building a 174,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Durham, North Carolina, which will have the capacity to serve partner projects. Less than a year after securing its Series A funding, followed a few months later by a Series B round, Jaguar announced its $125 million investment to build the site, which is 20 miles from its current lab in Cary.
Jaguar traces its roots to AveXis, a Novartis-owned subsidiary that launched Zolgensma, a gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy.