Foundation Sponsors

Ferring Research Institute, Inc.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, Ferring Research Institute, Inc., (FRI) is a critical component of Ferring Pharmaceutical’s global therapeutics research and discovery engine. Established in 1996, FRI is located in the heart of the Southern California biopharmaceutical community. The center has attracted a diverse group of highly skilled professionals representing over twenty four countries of origin. FRI is focused on the following key therapeutic areas: reproductive health, urology, and gastroenterology. Our state-of-the art facility includes peptide and protein drug design, chemistry, pharmacology, biology, and preclinical ADME capabilities. Historically FRI has focused on the discovery of amino acid-based therapeutics utilizing the body’s signaling hormones. Today FRI is committed to building a portfolio of novel, innovative therapeutics using a wide array of modalities in order to address areas of high unmet medical need in our core therapeutic areas. Driving value through personalized medicine.

Ferring Pharmaceuticals (Ferring) is a private, research-driven specialty biopharmaceutical company active in global markets. The company identifies, develops and markets innovative products in the fields of endocrinology, gastroenterology, infertility, obstetrics, urology and osteoarthritis. In recent years Ferring has expanded beyond its traditional European base: with over 6,500 employees worldwide, it operates subsidiaries in 60 countries and makes its products available in more than 110 countries. The company has emerged as a world leader with one of the largest peptide therapeutics portfolios in the industry. As part of its commitment to developing innovative products to treat diseases with high unmet medical need, Ferring invests heavily in its research infrastructure both in terms of people and technology.

Neurocrine Biosciences

Neurocrine Biosciences is a neuroscience-focused, biopharmaceutical company with a simple purpose: to relieve suffering for people with great needs, but few options. We are dedicated to discovering and developing life-changing treatments for patients with under-addressed neurological, neuroendocrine, and neuropsychiatric disorders. The company’s diverse portfolio includes FDA-approved treatments for tardive dyskinesia, Parkinson’s disease, endometriosis* and uterine fibroids*, as well as over a dozen mid- to late-stage clinical programs in multiple therapeutic areas. For three decades, we have applied our unique insight into neuroscience and the interconnections between brain and body systems to treat complex conditions. We relentlessly pursue medicines to ease the burden of debilitating diseases and disorders, because you deserve brave science. (*in collaboration with AbbVie).

Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. This heritage has given us experience and capabilities that also enable us to help people defeat obesity, haemophilia, growth disorders and other serious chronic diseases. Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 41,700 people in 77 countries and markets its products in more than 165 countries. Novo Nordisk’s B shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Novo-B). Its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NVO). For more information, visit novonordisk.com.

The PolyPeptide Group

The PolyPeptide Group is a publicly-held organization, traded on the Swiss stock exchange, which focuses on manufacturing proprietary and generic GMP-grade peptides for the pharmaceutical and biotechnological market. With more than 60 years of experience, the Group is committed to the highest quality of peptide manufacturing for commercial peptide drug substances, GMP peptides in clinical trials, or small-scale non-GMP custom syntheses.

The PolyPeptide Group has grown by selective acquisition of existing expertise, culminating in its position today as a leader in peptide manufacturing. The Group has manufacturing facilities in Sweden (Malmo), Belgium (Braine L’Alleud), France (Strasbourg), India (Ambernath) and two sites in the USA (San Diego CA & Torrance CA). As a multinational company with about 1200 employees worldwide, its diversity brings breadth and depth of knowledge and experience to the Group.

The Group’s long-established core strength in GMP manufacturing and broad range of services supports peptide & peptide-like projects, including conjugation to non-peptide moieties, from the bench through to commercialization. With continually increasing capacity for GMP manufacturing, the PolyPeptide Group is stronger and better equipped to serve the needs of its customers at all stages of pharmaceutical peptide development. With its multinational organization, strict focus on peptides and solid financial base, the Group offers an almost unique security of supply to its customers.

Takeda

Takeda is a global, values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical leader headquartered in Japan, committed to discover and deliver life-transforming treatments, guided by our commitment to patients, our people and the planet. Takeda focuses its R&D efforts on four therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Genetics and Hematology, Neuroscience, and Gastroenterology (GI). We also make targeted R&D investments in Plasma-Derived Therapies and Vaccines. We are focusing on developing highly innovative medicines that contribute to making a difference in people’s lives by advancing the frontier of new treatment options and leveraging our enhanced collaborative R&D engine and capabilities to create a robust, modality-diverse pipeline. Our employees are committed to improving quality of life for patients and to working with our partners in health care in approximately 80 countries and regions.

Zealand Pharma

Zealand Pharma A/S (NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen: ZEAL) (“Zealand”) is a biotechnology company specialized in the discovery, design and development of peptide-based therapeutics. The company has a portfolio of medicines and product candidates under license collaborations with Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim and a proprietary pipeline of product candidates, which primarily target specialty diseases with significant unmet needs.
Zealand is the inventor of lixisenatide, a once-daily prandial GLP-1 analog for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, which is licensed to Sanofi and marketed globally outside the U.S. as Lyxumia® and in the U.S. as Adlyxin®. Sanofi has also developed iGlarLixi, a fixed-ratio combination of lixisenatide and Lantus® (insulin glargine) marketed in U.S. as Soliqua® and Europe as Suliqua®.
Zealand’s proprietary pipeline includes; glepaglutide*, a GLP-2 analog for the treatment of short bowel syndrome which will initiate Phase III studies in 1H18; dasiglucagon*, a glucagon analog in Phase III as a single-dose rescue therapy for severe hypoglycemia and in Phase II as a multiple-dose component in a dual-hormone artificial pancreas system; and other earlier stage clinical and preclinical peptide therapeutics. The company has approximately 130 employees and is based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
* Glepaglutide and dasiglucagon are proposed International Nonproprietary Names (pINNs)