New York City, February 25, 2020 — Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), The Rockefeller University, and Weill Cornell Medicine today announced that the Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute, Inc. (Tri-I TDI) has renewed its collaborations with partners Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) and Bridge Medicines.
A pioneering academic-industry collaboration, the Tri-I TDI was established in 2013 to expedite early-stage drug discovery of novel therapies, including small molecules and biologics. To date, work done within the Tri-I TDI has resulted in the launch of two New York City–based companies and the licensing of six therapeutic discovery programs, with additional programs under active negotiation.
As the Tri-I TDI’s industry partner, Takeda contributes financial support, along with a wealth of drug discovery knowledge and expertise and best practices gained from its position as an established industry leader in the pharmaceutical sector.
In 2016, the Tri-I TDI announced the launch of Bridge Medicines in partnership with Takeda and healthcare investment firms Deerfield Management Company and Bay City Capital. Bridge Medicines is a groundbreaking initiative that completes a seamless, fully funded, and professionally staffed path from concept to drug candidate to efficiently develop innovative therapeutics for the treatment of human diseases.
“The Tri-I TDI is thrilled to welcome this continued collaboration with Takeda and Bridge Medicines. Over the last six years, we have only just begun to realize the untapped innovative potential in the Tri-Institute academic community. The continued engagement of these seasoned drug discovery professionals is a transformational event for our scientific community. This collaboration will allow us to accelerate more new treatments to patients and further enhance the biotechnology sector in New York City,” said Dr. Peter T. Meinke, the Sanders Director of the Tri-I TDI.
“Takeda is excited to continue our research work with world-class scientists as a result of this ongoing collaboration,” said Dr. Steve Hitchcock, Global Head of Research at Takeda. “We look forward to pursuing the opportunity to convert basic research concepts into innovative therapeutic programs that have the potential to address serious unmet medical needs.”
“The opportunity to interact closely, and often within walking distance, of such tremendous colleagues as our three premier institutions, their internationally renowned scientists and physicians, and the Tri-I TDI, creates a truly unique collaborative environment to generate new and potentially lifesaving medicines,” said Dr. William Polvino, CEO, Bridge Medicines. “Today’s extension of our collaboration demonstrates the great shared optimism for creating breakthrough medicines, none of which would be possible without the great people, great ideas, and financial and strategic backing of our partners at Deerfield Management, Bay City Capital, and Takeda. The collective investment of such talents and resources here in New York City is helping to create a vibrant biotech ecosystem that ultimately and hopefully will serve the ever-present needs of human healthcare.”
“Improving patients’ lives through the discovery and delivery of cutting-edge medicines is the fullest realization of the potential of academic medicine,” said Dr. Augustine M.K. Choi, the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine. “Our remarkable partnership with the Tri-I TDI, Bridge Medicines, and Takeda is forging a new pathway for advancing lifesaving therapeutics and changing the face of medicine. We are immensely pleased to continue this pioneering work.”
“The Tri-I TDI, begun as an experiment into a new way of conducting early-stage drug discovery, has more than lived up to its promise, becoming an indispensable tool for Rockefeller faculty seeking to transform their discoveries into new medicines,” said Dr. Richard P. Lifton, President of The Rockefeller University. “Takeda and Bridge Medicines have been outstanding partners in these endeavors, and we are thrilled to continue our work with them.”
“The Tri-I TDI and its partnerships with Takeda and Bridge Medicines provide MSK researchers with an unprecedented opportunity to discover promising therapeutic compounds and a pathway to get them to people with cancer more quickly than ever before. MSK is committed to the Tri-I TDI model, and together with Takeda and Bridge Medicines, we look forward to continuing its promising work for years to come,” said Dr. Craig B. Thompson, President and CEO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
The independent nonprofit Tri-I TDI was established to bridge the gap between groundbreaking early-stage academic research discoveries and the development of new diagnostic or therapeutic agents. The Tri-I TDI relies on recommendations from its scientific advisory board to select research projects that hold the greatest scientific promise and present the most innovative approaches to advancing human health. The organization supports translational research across the Tri-I community by leveraging the expertise of all three academic institutions and the Tri-I TDI’s industry partners, Takeda and Bridge Medicines. Its goals are to foster discovery and translational research, to provide high-quality educational opportunities to all members of the Tri-I community, and to deepen faculty involvement in drug discovery.
Philanthropy helps drive discoveries at the Tri-I TDI. The three parent institutions received a $30 million gift from Lewis and Ali Sanders to launch the Tri-I TDI and grow its mission. The institute also received a $5 million gift from Howard and Abby Milstein and receives additional funding through direct contributions from MSK, The Rockefeller University, and Weill Cornell Medicine. An important aspect of the Tri-I TDI continues to be the Sanders Innovation and Education Initiative, which lends organizational infrastructure, project management and director salary support, education for a new generation of drug discovery scientists, and in-lab support of faculty to drive the institute’s innovative mission.
The Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute
The Tri-I TDI connects researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The Rockefeller University, and Weill Cornell Medicine with collaborators from across the globe to remove barriers that impede drug discovery in academic settings. Tri-I TDI empowers the Tri-I community to advance their groundbreaking biological discoveries through preclinical studies by providing industrial-scale technical support for academic projects, making it possible to rapidly assess the utility of specific therapeutic targets in disease-relevant contexts. Working in close collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd. and Bridge Medicines, LLC., Tri-I TDI accelerates the discovery of next generation drugs. For more information about Tri-I TDI, please visit www.tritdi.org or contact info@tritdi.org.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is the world’s oldest and largest private cancer center, home to more than 20,000 physicians, scientists, nurses, and staff united by a relentless dedication to conquering cancer. As an independent institution, MSK combines 130-plus years of research and clinical leadership with the freedom to provide highly individualized, exceptional care to each patient. MSK is consistently ranked the number-one hospital for cancer care in the Northeast and among the top two cancer hospitals nationwide. And its always-evolving educational programs continue to train new leaders in the field, here and around the world. For more information, visit www.mskcc.org.
The Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is one of the world’s leading biomedical research universities and is dedicated to conducting innovative, high-quality research to improve the understanding of life for the benefit of humanity. Rockefeller’s 75 laboratories conduct research in neuroscience, immunology, biochemistry, genomics and many other areas, and a community of over 2,000 faculty, students, postdocs, technicians, clinicians and administrative personnel work on the university’s 16-acre Manhattan campus. Rockefeller’s unique approach to science has led to some of the world’s most revolutionary and transformative contributions to biology and medicine. During Rockefeller’s 115-year history, 25 Rockefeller scientists have won Nobel Prizes, 23 have won Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards and 20 have garnered the National Medal of Science, the highest science award given by the United States. For more information, go to www.rockefeller.edu.
Weill Cornell Medicine
Weill Cornell Medicine is committed to excellence in patient care, scientific discovery and the education of future physicians in New York City and around the world. The doctors and scientists of Weill Cornell Medicine — faculty from Weill Cornell Medical College, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and Weill Cornell Physician Organization—are engaged in world-class clinical care and cutting-edge research that connect patients to the latest treatment innovations and prevention strategies. Located in the heart of the Upper East Side's scientific corridor, Weill Cornell Medicine's powerful network of collaborators extends to its parent university Cornell University; to Qatar, where Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar offers a Cornell University medical degree; and to programs in Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Weill Cornell Medicine faculty provide comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Queens and NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. Weill Cornell Medicine is also affiliated with Houston Methodist. For more information, visit weill.cornell.edu.