VIS understood the big picture and were able to map out a route for us. That was invaluable”, explains researcher Jim Lorens, with reference to how VIS helped turn research results into a medicine.
Let’s turn the clock all the way back to April 2005. That was when two researchers approached VIS (formerly Bergen Teknologioverføring) with what they thought was a good idea for developing cutting-edge medicines to treat aggressive cancers. The two researchers were James Lorens and David Micklem. At VIS, their idea was recorded as idea number 29.
“It was natural for us to ask VIS to stake out a path to commercialisation for our research. At the start it was vital to put in place funding, but we found it very difficult to navigate our way through the various types of verification funding available. VIS understood the big picture and were able to map out a route for us. That was invaluable”, says Jim Lorens.
Convinced to move to Norway
The American Lorens had been lured to Norway in 2003. He resigned from the company Rigel Pharmaceuticals in San Francisco to accept a professorship at the University of Bergen’s Faculty of Medicine, as well as a part-time job as a department manager at Uni Research. Indications that Norwegian legislation on the commercialisation of research would change played a decisive role in Loren’s decision.
“The Director General of the university Kåre Rommetveit convinced me that it was possible to make things happen in Bergen. I had already started thinking about a possible ‘spin-out’”, smiles Lorens.
His ambition was to create a company to exploit the potential benefits to society of his research. VIS and the University of Bergen set about obtaining funding.
“Our tasks at the beginning of a project are to safeguard the legal rights of the researchers and institutions, and to assess the potential of the idea. Once that has been done, we look for possible funding for the process of verifying the technology’s potential. This may include buyouts of researchers’ time. It is often the Research Council of Norway’s FORNY programme that funds this work”, explains Anders Haugland, Managing Director of VIS between 2006-2020.
“The early verification funding was very important for BerGenBio. It was what enabled me to go ahead with the project. For example, the money paid for David Micklem’s position, setting him out on a completely new career path. These things weren’t eligible for funding aimed at basic research, and they had to be financed in other ways”, says Lorens.
From project to start-up
Based on the results of the verification project, the decision was taken to set up a company, and in 2007 the VIS team, headed by business development manager Monica Lislerud and Anders Haugland, deposited NOK 100,000 in the bank account of a company in formation: BerGenBio.
“That was a solemn day. It was the first company that VIS was allowed to take an ownership interest in, and setting the company up was the conclusion of what at the time felt like a long and arduous process that had been going on since April 2005. At the same time, we were well aware that this was just the start of a new, even more challenging journey – with unknown challenges and a steep learning curve”, says Haugland.
Developing new medicines takes a long time, and it is expensive. Work on obtaining additional funding therefore continued unabated, and in 2008 we once again succeeded in obtaining important funding from the Research Council of Norway’s FORNY programme. Meanwhile, work had started on recruiting a managing director and putting together a board of directors.
“Our competent business development managers often take on the role of managing director during the start-up phase of a company, but specialist knowledge of the relevant field becomes necessary in due course, at which point we have to recruit a managing director with knowledge and experience of the industry in which the company wants to operate”, says Haugland.
Finding the right person isn’t always that easy. You need a lot of things to fall into place. At the time, there weren’t many potential managers in Norway who both had the necessary specialist expertise in bioscience and were willing to bet on a pharmaceuticals start-up in Bergen. One of the few was Richard Godfrey.
“When we were recruiting the new managing director, I said I wanted someone like Richard. I had met him at the Swedish embassy in London, and I found him a fascinating person. When it turned out he lived in Bergen, it made the negotiations easier. Richard has over twenty five years’ international experience of developing and commercialising medicines. Richard was, and still is, an excellent match for BerGenBio”, says Anders Haugland.
Trond Mohn becomes a shareholder
A new boss was in place, but the road ahead was still by no means paved with gold. In fact, as is the case for most innovative projects, it was more of a dirt track.
A winding one that was full of potholes. Obtaining funding was particularly challenging. The seed fund Sarsia Seed and VIS played a crucial role in the company’s initial financing. Sarsia Seed invested seed money in BerGenBio in several funding rounds. VIS ensured that the funding applications submitted to the Research Council of Norway were of a high quality and hence successful. That kept the company afloat. But in 2011 the financial situation was so critical that it could easily have been the end of the road for BerGenBio.
“It was just after the financial crisis. A small, unknown biotechnology company from an unlikely place like Bergen wanted money for a product that would be ready in ten years at the earliest. It wasn’t easy”, recalls Anders Haugland, looking back on a board meeting where they considered calling it a day.
“In a financing round led by Sarsia Seed, the company asked for NOK 40 million and ended up getting NOK 54 million. Trond Mohn’s investment vehicle Meteva was by far the biggest single investor, and his support was invaluable. Together with Sarsia Seed, Norsk Innovasjonskapital, Investinor and investors including Ole-Eirik Lerøy and Jan Einar Greve, he gave the company a solid foundation on which to build its future”, says Haugland.
Found suitable premises
The company was now in a strong financial position, but it still didn’t have suitable premises for its research. In 2010, VIS and the University of Bergen established Bergen Biomedisinske Inkubator at Haukeland University Hospital.
“Hewlett Packard programmed their first computers in a garage in Palo Alto. However, I’m pretty sure my garage isn’t suitable for doing advanced medical research. So it was absolutely vital for BerGenBio to get access to premises with the right advanced equipment”, says Lorens.
In parallel with the move to new premises, negotiations were underway with Rigel Pharmaceuticals on licensing a medicine that was given the name BGB 324.
The negotiations were successful and an agreement was signed.
“It was an important agreement for BerGenBio, because it involved licensing a medicine that could regulate the factor which a few years earlier the researchers had demonstrated played a key role in the mechanism by which cancer spreads and develops resistance to conventional treatments”, says Haugland.
“VIS helped me as an academic to collaborate with the industry. At the time, it wasn’t too obvious how a researcher could work with the pharmaceutical industry. These days it’s a bit better”, says Lorens.
VIS withdraws
The company now had the financial strength to stand on its own two feet. VIS had completed its job. Our final task was to find a replacement for our own board member.
“That’s how we should operate. We help start-ups until they are ready to stand on their own feet. Then we sell our stake and invest the money in new, promising projects. Through our ownership interest in the fund Norsk Innovasjonskapital, we still have a small shareholding in BerGenBio, but our role is now limited to cheering on the great team at BerGenBio”, says Haugland.
Richard Godfrey is full of praise for the job that VIS did with BerGenBio.
“I feel that VIS did a fantastic job. BerGenBio is a textbook example of how to go about setting up a ‘spin-out’. VIS understand both the research and business aspects involved”, says Richard Godfrey.
BerGenBio is today considered the world-leader in terms of understanding the role and function of the protein Axl, which is what makes cancer so aggressive. The company is currently developing several promising medicines with significant potential in cancer treatment. The prime candidate has been given the name Bemcentinib (BGB324), and it is now being tested in international clinical trials on patients with lung cancer and leukaemia. This medicine aims, amongst other things, to prevent cancer from spreading and stop cancer cells from developing resistance to treatments.
In order to take the next steps in the drug development process, BerGenBio requires more capital. The company therefore applied to be listed on Oslo Børs. When it was listed in April 2017, the company was valued at NOK 1.2 billion. Trond Mohn is still the company’s biggest shareholder. And at the time of writing, the company is valued at NOK 2.3 billion.
“I have always given VIS a lot of the credit for BerGenBio. They were the ones who helped us get started. VIS understood our needs and were willing to put in place the necessary agreements. They have a ‘can-do’ mentality that an American like me really appreciates”, says Lorens.
“If BerGenBio succeeds with its medicines, it will be a gold mine worth billions of dollars – but even more importantly it will be of huge benefit to very many cancer patients and their loved ones. That is really inspiring, and we are incredibly fortunate to be able to work on this kind of project”, concludes Haugland.