Allied Minds, a science and technology development and commercialization company, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company have  Allied-Bristol Life Sciences LLC, a new jointly owned enterprise created to identify and foster research and pre-clinical development of biopharmaceutical innovations from leading university research institutions across the United States.

Allied-Bristol Life Sciences LLC will focus on converting discoveries from university research institutions into therapeutic candidates for clinical development, and ultimately approved therapies that address serious diseases. For programs identified by the new enterprise, university researchers will be able to access Bristol-Myers Squibb's drug-discovery research expertise, and Allied Minds' financial and management experience.

Under the terms of the agreement, the companies have jointly formed and funded Allied-Bristol Life Sciences LLC, which will work with university researchers to identify discoveries it believes has promising therapeutic and commercial potential, and will support the research and development needed to take these early-stage opportunities from initial feasibility to pre-clinical candidacy. Allied Minds and Bristol-Myers Squibb together will form and fund new companies to conduct feasibility and full-phase discovery programs. Once a program succeeds in identifying a pre-clinical candidate, Bristol-Myers Squibb will have the option to acquire the company from Allied-Bristol Life Sciences LLC under pre-agreed terms.

Operating since 2006, Allied Minds, based in Boston, funds, manages, and builds products and businesses based on innovative technologies developed at leading US universities and federal research institutions. Allied Minds serves as a diversified holding company that supports its businesses and product development with capital, central management, and shared services. The company takes a majority ownership stake in each business it establishes and provides funding and central management so that it's intimately involved at each stage of strategy and growth. Allied Minds currently works with more than 33 leading universities, several of which exceed $1 billion each in annual research spending, as well as 32 federal research centers and laboratories managed by the US Departments of Defense and Energy on a similar commercialization structure. It currently has 18 operating companies in the US.

Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb