Reality is Virtual at San Diegos Tioga Pharmaceuticals
Summary
The company outsources all aspects of clinical development—human trials, chemistry and manufacturing, regulatory, legal and IP management—in a business model that keeps overhead to a minimum as development progresses from one phase to the next.Genentech was little more than a virtual company when it negotiated the research contract with scientists at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, CA, that lead to the first genetically engineered drug.Big pharmaceutical companies, desirous of late-stage compounds to replace tens of billions in revenue from drugs going off patent, are no longer paying top dollar to acquire biotech startups and their unproven molecules.Still, Tioga has plenty of company in its desire to improve its odds, as I noted in a recent post about San Diego startups working to repurpose or revive existing drugs.Collinson, who is also the chairman and CEO of Tioga, thinks his company’s drug, which works on the form or irritable bowel syndrome that causes diarrhea, is a good bet for a couple of reasons.