The Johns Hopkins University and Deerfield Management have recently announced the creation of Bluefield Innovations, a collaboration designed to catalyze the development of early stage therapeutics. Funded by Deerfield, an investment management firm committed to advancing health care, Bluefield Innovations will provide up to $65 million in initial funding over five years to support the commercialization of early stage therapeutic research at Johns Hopkins, with additional funding available to advance research that shows strong commercial potential.
A joint steering committee will identify the research that Bluefield will support through the pre-clinical development process—including basic research, proof of concept, target selection and investigational new drug (IND) enabling studies designed to qualify a candidate to enter into human clinical trials. Research developed within Bluefield will either be licensed to third parties or spun out into new companies. The current focus for Bluefield is on human therapeutics at all stages of development and an RFP will kick off shortly. Additional information about Bluefield and the RFP process can be found at www.bluefieldinnovations.com.
