Bayer’s Vividion Emerging as Significant Player in San Diego Biotech Hub

June 09, 2022 at 08:33 AM EDT

Innovative business model preserves Vividion’s entrepreneurial culture and pipeline focus, while adding the technical expertise and resources of a global pharma leader
Multiple programs for previously undruggable targets now advancing towards the clinic
Vividion site recently expanded to support growing pipeline
Bayer now present in four of the largest biotechnology hubs in the United States

Bayer AG and its wholly owned San Diego-based subsidiary Vividion Therapeutics, Inc. (Vividion) will highlight how the two companies have fostered innovation and collaboration through Bayer’s “arm’s length” operating model during a presentation at the 2022 BIO International Convention.

Bayer has built a strong partnership with Vividion since its acquisition of the biopharmaceutical company in 2021, deploying an innovative business model that allows Vividion to operate largely autonomously and independently to develop and advance its novel pipeline and platform technologies.

“Vividion’s arm’s length but connected relationship with Bayer has given us a unique and highly desirable operating model,” said Jeffrey Hatfield, Chief Executive Officer at Vividion. “The independence has allowed us to keep our entrepreneurial culture, fast decision making and focus on breakthrough innovation, while the connection adds significant technical expertise, global reach and the financial stability of a major pharmaceutical company. With all these strengths, we’ve been able to accelerate progress on our pipeline of novel, previously undruggable target programs this past year, and we look forward to the possibility of delivering multiple programs into the clinic starting next year.”

“Our partners thrive when empowered, and our objective is for Vividion to continue to advance innovation in an entrepreneurial environment focused on patient benefits and outcomes,” said Marianne De Backer, MBA, Ph.D., Member of the Executive Committee of the Pharmaceuticals Division and Head of Strategy, Business Development & Licensing and Open Innovation at Bayer. “We listen to our partners’ needs and are flexible in the way we steer our engagements. As a result, we are pursuing innovative business models with external innovators, recognizing that today’s life sciences environment requires adaptive, agile approaches to deals and decision making.”

By addressing key limitations of conventional drug discovery techniques, Vividion’s proprietary chemoproteomic platform technology allows the company to unlock high value, traditionally undruggable target biology with precision therapeutics for cancers and immune disorders. Recently, Benjamin Cravatt, Professor of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute and Vividion’s scientific co-founder, received the prestigious Wolf Prize in Chemistry for this technologic breakthrough. As the most advanced platform of its kind in the industry, Vividion adds another drug discovery engine that will fuel its pipeline with first-in-class medicines at an unprecedented speed to Bayer’s portfolio.

Vividion is already advancing multiple novel biology, first-in-class programs towards the clinic and has more than a dozen similar pipeline opportunities emerging in early discovery. Combining Bayer’s distinguished history and accomplishments in small molecule development with Vividion’s industry-leading chemoproteomic platform engine addresses known limits in the field of drug discovery to identify small molecules for disease-relevant protein targets traditionally thought to be undruggable.

With Vividion’s new, state-of-the-art research campus in San Diego, Bayer has expanded its operations into this fast-growing life sciences cluster. The company is now present in four of the largest biotechnology hubs in the United States - Boston, San Francisco, San Diego and Research Triangle Park, NC.

Details of the Bayer and Vividion presentation at the 2022 BIO Convention in San Diego:

“Cultivating innovation post-acquisition: Bayer and Vividion’s arm’s length model” by Marianne De Backer, Ph.D., EVP, Head of Strategy, Business Development & Licensing and Open Innovation at Bayer, and Jeffrey Hatfield, CEO of Vividion Therapeutics

Monday, June 13, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (PDT), San Diego Convention Center, Upper Level, Session Room 3

https://www.bio.org/events/bio-international-convention/sessions/933729

About Bayer

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2021, the Group employed around 100,000 people and had sales of 44.1 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

About Vividion

Vividion Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company utilizing novel discovery technologies to unlock high value, traditionally undruggable targets with precision therapeutics for devastating cancers and immune disorders. The company’s platform has enabled it to identify hundreds of previously unknown functional pockets on well-validated protein targets implicated in a wide range of diseases, while simultaneously identifying compounds from its proprietary covalent chemistry library that interact in a highly selective manner with those pockets. The company is leveraging its proprietary chemoproteomic platform to advance a diversified pipeline of highly selective small molecule therapeutics targeting high value, traditionally undruggable targets in oncology and immunology. For more information, please visit www.vividion.com.

jds (2022-0099E)

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220609005597/en/

Contacts

Contact for media inquiries:

Sue Ann Pentecost

phone +1 910 221 6446

Email: sueann.pentecost@bayer.com

Find more information at www.bayer.com.

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Bayer’s Vividion Emerging as Significant Player in San Diego Biotech Hub

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