The university is collaborating with Deerfield Management to form VeritaScience, a private R&D company intended to advance the discovery, clinical development and commercialization of therapeutic and diagnostic candidates with the potential to benefit human health, officials said Tuesday.

New York City-based Deerfield has committed up to $130 million over the next 10 years, as well as organizational support for projects that originate from VeritaScience. The new R&D collaboration complements WashU's existing efforts in drug development, officials said. The name VeritaScience was chosen to honor Washington University’s motto, “Per Veritatem Vis,” which means “Strength Through Truth” in Latin, officials said.
With the new R&D collaboration, WashU investigators will submit project proposals to VeritaScience and its scientific review team, which will be led by Deerfield's experts with guidance from the university’s Office of Technology Management and WashU's School of Medicine business development team, according to a release. The project proposals submitted can be designed around any disease indication.
Accepted drug discovery projects will receive a development plan aimed at making an investigational new drug application to the Food & Drug Administration and could be eligible for added funding and support to create separate startup companies, according to a release.
“The exciting collaboration with Deerfield Management to create VeritaScience represents yet another major approach to leveraging the research capabilities of Washington University,” Dr. David Perlmutter, dean of WashU's School of Medicine and executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, said in a statement. “Deerfield has extensive experience in academic-industry partnerships, and this agreement allows us to further advance the ‘virtuous cycle of academic medicine’ and our commitment to translating ever more of the landscape-altering discoveries happening in our labs into tools and therapies that will concretely improve human health and alleviate suffering.”
Deerfield Management, launched in 1994, is an investment firm targeting the advancement of health care, with over $13 billion in assets under management and over 150 portfolio companies, according to its website.

The company's network currently includes 30 research institutions and medical centers. Deerfield works with its research partners to provide funding and expertise to create spinoff companies that support of novel therapeutic discoveries, according to the release.