A Medical Device Daily

Quintiles Transnational (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina) has reported launch of an expanded partnering group under the NovaQuest brand and, “to further NovaQuest's mission,” an alliance with TPG-Axon Capital, an investment firm with more than $5.8 billion in equity capital.

NovaQuest, Quintiles said, “helps life-science companies realize greater value from their product portfolios through innovative strategic partnering solutions. TPG-Axon, led by the former head of Goldman Sachs' Principal Strategies Department, Dinakar Singh, will be NovaQuest's first-line partner for co-development and co-promotion investments.

Quintiles said that since 2000 when it started a formal strategic partnering function, more than $1.5 billion has been committed to Quintiles' partnerships with companies. Within NovaQuest are Quintiles' key investment partnering functions, including agreement structuring and due diligence and alliance management.

Through its alliance with TPG-Axon, NovaQuest reports having access to capital to fund strategic partnerships “of virtually any size.” TPG-Axon has committed several hundred millions of dollars to NovaQuest partnerships to date.

NovaQuest says it offers partnering solutions in three major categories: co-development and co-promotion investments in which NovaQuest invests with cash or Quintiles services, or a combination of both; strategic resourcing to convert fixed-cost assets to variable cost; and assistance to small and medium-sized biotechs via access to Quintiles as a “virtual infrastructure” for global development and commercialization.

NovaQuest will be led by Ron Wooten, executive vice president, corporate development, Quintiles Transnational. Wooten said, “NovaQuest's launch reflects the maturity of Quintiles' partnering capabilities, our record of success and increasing demand from customers.”