New York, NY, Sept. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IPGaia Inc. ("IPG") and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (“Icahn Mount Sinai”) have entered into a Comprehensive Collaborative Research and Development Agreement ("this agreement") dated August 7th, 2024. This agreement establishes a formal framework for the incorporation of promising drug target leads from Icahn Mount Sinai into IPG’s drug discovery platform.
This agreement enables Icahn Mount Sinai to propose drug targets to IPG for identification and development of lead compounds or modalities with the goal of licensing clinical development candidates to pharmaceutical companies. IPG is soliciting drug discovery seeds from a wide range of research institutions, including global academia and pharmaceutical companies, and is steadily expanding domestically and internationally to the 10th academia institution, Icahn Mount Sinai (Japan: 5 institutions, US: 4 institutions, Singapore: 1 institution). IPG aims for the efficient creation of innovative medicines and hopes to contribute to solving global social issues by reducing healthcare costs and expanding access to medicine.
Upon the conclusion of this agreement, Erik Lium, PhD, the Chief Commercial Innovation Officer at the Mount Sinai Health System and President of Mount Sinai Innovation Partners, said, “We look forward to working with IPGaia, enhancing efforts in drug discovery and addressing healthcare challenges. Their innovative platform will contribute to our shared goals in advancing early stage biomedical research.”
“It is a great honor and privilege for us to enter into this agreement with Icahn Mount Sinai, one of the most prestigious medical schools in US,” said Yasu Yamaguchi, Ph.D., President and CEO of IPG. “This partnership grants IPG access to cutting-edge drug discovery seeds, enabling us to develop highly innovative medicines with greater efficiency. In this sense, IPG is committed to addressing global challenges such as rising healthcare costs and extending healthy life expectancy.”
About IPG
IPG was established on October 26, 2021, as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Healthcare New Platform Fund where Whiz Partners Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Satoru Iino) has been the general partner. IPG leverages the valuable drug discovery research data and expertise of its comprehensive partnership agreement, Axcelead and Axcelead DDP, to select promising research seeds and projects. By collaborating among the parties to build a next stage drug discovery platform, it would be possible to generate high quality innovative pharmaceuticals in a shorter period of time and lower cost. As for the pharmaceutical industry, the trend of the horizontal division of labor business model would be more accelerating. IPG plays a role as a platformer for creating pre-clinical stage innovative new medicines.
About the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is internationally renowned for its outstanding research, educational, and clinical care programs. It is the sole academic partner for the eight- member hospitals* of the Mount Sinai Health System, one of the largest academic health systems in the United States, providing care to a large and diverse patient population.
Ranked 13th nationwide in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and among the 99th percentile in research dollars per investigator according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, Icahn Mount Sinai has a talented, productive, and successful faculty. More than 3,000 full-time scientists, educators, and clinicians work within and across 44 academic departments and 36 multidisciplinary institutes, a structure that facilitates tremendous collaboration and synergy. Our emphasis on translational research and therapeutics is evident in such diverse areas as genomics/big data, virology, neuroscience, cardiology, geriatrics, as well as gastrointestinal and liver diseases.
Icahn Mount Sinai offers highly competitive MD, PhD, and Master’s degree programs, with current enrollment of approximately 1,300 students. It has the largest graduate medical education program in the country, with more than 2,685 clinical residents and fellows training throughout the Health System. In addition, more than 550 postdoctoral research fellows are in training within the Health System.
A culture of innovation and discovery permeates every Icahn Mount Sinai program. Mount Sinai’s technology transfer office, one of the largest in the country, partners with faculty and trainees to pursue optimal commercialization of intellectual property to ensure that Mount Sinai discoveries and innovations translate into healthcare products and services that benefit the public.
Icahn Mount Sinai’s commitment to breakthrough science and clinical care is enhanced by academic affiliations that supplement and complement the School’s programs.
Through the Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP), the Health System facilitates the real-world application and commercialization of medical breakthroughs made at Mount Sinai. Additionally, MSIP develops research partnerships with industry leaders such as Merck & Co., AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, and others.
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is located in New York City on the border between the Upper East Side and East Harlem, and classroom teaching takes place on a campus facing Central Park. Icahn Mount Sinai’s location offers many opportunities to interact with and care for diverse communities. Learning extends well beyond the borders of our physical campus, to the eight hospitals of the Mount Sinai Health System, our academic affiliates, and globally.
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Mount Sinai Health System member hospitals: The Mount Sinai Hospital; Mount Sinai Beth Israel; Mount Sinai Brooklyn; Mount Sinai Morningside; Mount Sinai Queens; Mount Sinai South Nassau; Mount Sinai West; and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai.
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