Isis gets drug funding

Symphony Capital Partners and a group of coinvestors will provide Isis Pharmaceuticals with $75 million to fund development of Isis' cholesterol-lowering drug, ISIS 301012 (see page 13), and two novel diabetes drugs. As part of the deal, Isis granted a unit of Symphony Capital and its partners a license to the intellectual property for the three drug programs. However, Isis retains the exclusive right to reacquire the unit holding the intellectual property at any time. The deal is attractive, say B. Lynne Parshall, Isis chief financial officer and executive vice president, because rather than working with a pharmaceutical company, "we retain control of development of these drugs and exclusive rights to them."