Friday, July 25, 2008

Virdante lands at Biogen incubator — for a while

By Ryan McBride

Biotechnology powerhouse Biogen Idec Inc. recently welcomed a third company into its well-chronicled incubator in Cambridge. Yet a Biogen official says this latest incubator occupant, Virdante Pharmaceuticals Inc., may not stay for long.

Unlike the two previous biotech startups to take up residence in the Biogen Idec Innovation Incubator, Virdante counts Biogen as just one of several investors, also including two venture capital firms and the venture arm of biotech company MedImmune in Gaithersburg, Md. Biogen is however the majority owner of earlier incubator occupants Provasculon Inc. and Escoublac Inc., and both biotechs, unlike Virdante, have agreed to contribute their lead drugs to Biogen’s drug pipeline for a pre-determined acquisition price.

Cambridge-based Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) is looking for a third biotech startup with which to strike a deal similar to those Biogen has with Provasculon and Escoublac, said Rainer Fuchs, a Biogen vice president and executive director of the incubator. He added that once such a startup is found, it would likely take Virdante’s place in the incubator.

“I expect (Virdante) will be here until the end of the year,” Fuchs said.

Virdante, named Centaurus Pharmaceuticals until April 2008, had operated in the offices of investor Clarus Ventures in Cambridge. Fuchs said that Virdante CEO Jim Ripple still has work space in the Clarus office.

Virdante has licensed technology from The Rockefeller University in New York City. The startup’s scientific co-founder, Rockefeller professor Jeffrey Ravetch, is an expert on immunoglobulin antibodies, found to reduce inflammation caused by such disorders as arthritis and asthma. Virdante develops treatments for autoimmune diseases.

Venrock, a New York-based venture firm with an office in Cambridge, is another investor in Virdante.