Monoclonal Antibodies... Big Pharma... Big Profits... in comes Google Ventures- Bill Maris and maybe he is a little sick and tired of jump starting small biotechs and failing to get a return on investment that provides a big "moonshot" for his portfolio...
...so what to do ? Start "Calico" and take all that money from Google Ventures that you were placing into companies such as "Adimab" and create something that will give you that "moonshot" of a chance at becoming larger than Big Pharma itself.
What do I think? I believe Bill Maris has seen and experienced "ENOUGH" of how Big Pharma works, how "partnerships" work and how "collaborations" have been working that why should he invest in these companies where he has no control... even on the BOD... so here comes Calico. My best educated guess is its not going to be betting the house on one company or one partnership but you do need a foundation platform and that platform will be.....very possibly Peregrine Pharmaceuticals "PS targeting platform" : )
Whats more important here is that Anderson (COO and co-founder of Adimab) all made Adimab work by partnerships and VC seed money ... but guess what ? The company management and employees own less than 50% of Adimab. The other 50%+ is owned by the VC's and partners (Big Pharma Partners) -- VS -- Peregrine who owns 100% of Peregrine... this is what pi$$es off the opposition the most. They (Big Pharma...etc ) were never able to get a handle around Peregrine so operation Fargo plan B
Before Anderson dove full time into Adimab he did his summer internship in marketing for Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). Working in a large corporation can be good experience, he said, even if being an entrepreneur is your ultimate goal. While at BMS, for example, Anderson used his credentials to speak with researchers at firms who wouldn’t have given him the time of day if he were an independent person. He then used that knowledge to inform his work at Adimab.
More importantly.... guess who was part of Adimab and knows "ENOUGH" about Mabs / legal / USPTO ... and joins BMS in Sept 2012 "Sr VP Business Development" to secure partnerships /collaborations/buyouts..etc.?
Fran Heller... and remember all those collaborations that Adimab had going and BMS was out of the loop? Sounds like a perfect way to hire Fran Heller and its all about what you know and who you know....
Who will back Peregrine? I say CALICO should... its a win-win for both sides. CALICO will be transferring much of their small biotech backed VC seed money right into their own company for a control of assets they never had before. In Art Levinson, Dr. Robert Garnick and SK & company shall trust.