Merck Partners With Academic Scientists And Biotechnology Entrepreneurs To Create The California Institute For Biomedical Research (Calibr)

Merck, known outside the United States and Canada as MSD, today announced a collaboration to create the California Institute for Biomedical Research (Calibr), an independent, not-for-profit organization (501c3) established to accelerate the translation of basic biomedical research into innovative, new medicines to treat disease.

Calibr will be led by Peter G. Schultz, Ph.D., a world-renowned chemist and biotechnology entrepreneur. The Institute will offer academic scientists, around the world, a streamlined, efficient and flexible path for translating their biomedical research into novel medicines.

"Calibr represents a new paradigm for early-stage translational research," said Dr. Schultz, director of Calibr and Scripps Professor of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute. "By leveraging the drug discovery expertise and resources of Calibr, academic researchers will have the opportunity to maximize the potential therapeutic value of their research."

Calibr investigators will work collaboratively with academic scientists to advance new discoveries to preclinical proof of concept at which stage commercial partnerships will be sought for further development.

Merck will provide funding to Calibr of up to $90 million over a period of seven years. Merck has an option to obtain an exclusive commercial license to any proteins or small molecule therapeutic candidates derived from work conducted by Calibr.

For any projects not licensed by Merck, Calibr will be free to seek alternative sources of funding for further development. In addition, the Institute plans to access funds from government and non-government sources. Revenues derived from licenses will be shared between Calibr and the collaborating institutions.

Project proposals from the scientific community will be chosen on the basis of novelty, biomedical impact and technical feasibility and reviewed by a scientific advisory board headed by Christopher T. Walsh, Ph.D., Hamilton Kuhn Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry and Pharmacology, Harvard University. In addition, an independent board of directors headed by John D. Diekman, Ph.D., founder and managing partner of 5AM Ventures will oversee the activities of the Institute.

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