McMaster prof ‘still doing the same chores’ after company sells for $2.4B
AstraZeneca’s purchase of Fusion Pharmaceuticals marks the highest-valued acquisition of a McMaster spinoff
The idea came to him as a freshfaced undergrad visiting McMaster’s medical isotope-churning nuclear reactor.
“New chemistry can lead to new medicine.”
This was, by the early 1990s, already a tried and tested concept, with its origins dating back to the 16th century when physician Paracelsus first introduced the use of minerals to treat parasitic infections.
But back then John Valliant was just a young man who recently moved from his hometown of Kingston, Ont., where he spent his childhood enjoying popular sports like football and basketball — and not-so-popular school subjects like chemistry.
“I loved chemistry growing up,” he recalled in a recent interview, “loved everything to do with it. And when I saw the medical isotopes the (McMaster) reactor was producing for cancer treatments, it opened my eyes to the role chemistry can play in medicine.”
That observation would ultimately serve as the foundation for a decorated career in science that’s seen the McMaster grad teach chemistry and chemical biology at his alma mater, complete a postdoctorate under the supervision of Harvard University professors, found a globally renowned research centre dedicated to developing and commercializing radiopharmaceuticals, be named to Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, and head a fledgling biotech company which, just last month, sold for a whopping $2.4 billion (U.S.)
AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Fusion Pharmaceuticals, announced March 19, marks the largest sale for a McMaster-associated company, according to the school’s vice-president of research, who called the transaction an example of
Hamilton’s world-class research potential.
Formed by Valliant in 2015 and based out of Mac’s Innovation Park on Longwood Road, Fusion develops advanced cancer treatments that deliver nuclear isotopes directly to tumour cells while limiting damage to nearby healthy cells.
The class of drugs, coined radioconjugates, are considered to be among the most promising developments in modern medicine, with AstraZeneca believing they can help revolutionize cancer therapy worldwide.
“This acquisition marks a major step forward in AstraZeneca delivering on its ambition to transform cancer treatment for patients by replacing traditional regimens like chemotherapy and radiotherapy with more targeted treatments,” the U.K.based pharma giant said in a release.
A major step that comes with major money — but you wouldn’t get that sense talking to Valliant.
“The night after the deal was announced, I was still doing the same chores,” the Fusion CEO said with a chuckle.
Indeed, in his interview with The Spec, Valliant didn’t present himself as a guy who just sold his brainchild for a mammoth price tag.
There’s still important work to do, he said.
“I don’t think our job is done yet.”
Among the benefits of the acquisition — which will see Fusion become a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca — is that the Hamilton company
will stay right here at home. It will expand on its radiopharma presence, manufacturing capacity and critical supply pipelines in radioligand therapy, Valliant said.
Valliant said AstraZeneca’s standing as a major global pharmaceutical maker will help Fusion streamline the four drugs it has in clinical trials and the several others in discovery phases.
He referred to radioconjugates, or RCs, as “smartbombs” for cancer. They combine antibodies, small molecules or peptides that target and infiltrate cancer cells with a freight of radioactive medical isotopes, culminating in a form of precision medicine that brings treatment directly to the source. Unlike traditional radiation therapies, particles emitted from these isotopes only travel one to three cancer cell lengths, creating a way to selectively kill off bad tumour cells. Fusion scientists can also swap radioactive components for imaging agents to see whether the isotopes are delivered to the right place, making it easier to ascertain a drug’s efficacy or side effects pre-treatment.
A big challenge with producing these drugs is access to the radioactive metal actinium, for which Fusion already has agreements in place with major suppliers as well as the capacity to manufacture the treatments at its Longwood plant — things AstraZeneca considered key parts of the acquisition.
“That was an important part (of the deal), to keep things in Hamilton,” Valliant said. “I love that we manufacture here and ship globally.”
But for all its research and manufacturing might, Valliant said there is another key driver
behind Fusion’s success: people.
“This (sale) becomes a lot about me, but there’s a lot of people whose contributions this doesn’t happen without. They were there every step of the way.”
And he means the latter bit literally, dating back to his time as an undergraduate general sciences student at Mac, when he first became exposed to the power of collaboration in science.
“The biggest attraction for me at university was constant learning and constantly being surrounded by dedicated people,” he said.
This sentiment stayed with him as he completed his PhD at Mac in 1997 and later a postdoctoral fellowship under the supervision of profs at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2008, after returning to teach chemistry and chemical biology at his alma mater, Valliant founded the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC), then a novel idea to help commercialize radiopharmaceutical research.
Valliant noticed a gap early in his career between academics and the business world. It’s one thing to do great research, he said, but it’s another to take that research, develop it into a product and get it on the market.
“Being a full-time researcher it’s difficult knowing people on the entrepreneurial side or having time to do that (outreach) work,” he said. “The CPDC was the solution for (Fusion) in terms of having the right expertise around to commercialize our research and get medications to patients.”
Fusion was the centre’s first spinoff company, benefiting from key infrastructure on campus — like its isotope-producing cyclotron and nuclear reactor — as well as the university’s array of partners. Those connections saw Fusion secure significant funding as a startup — including $105 million (U.S.) in 2019, then one of the largest single private investments in Canadian biotech history — and become a publicly traded company in 2020.
“At McMaster we believe the university’s job isn’t just training and translation,” said Leyla Soleymani, the school’s associate vice-president of research. “It’s training, research and translation.”
Soleymani touted Fusion’s sale as an example of “not just the research, but the translation potential” at McMaster. And specifically for spinoff companies, whom she said the university offers various resources, like a seed fund, lab space, matchmaking fellowship initiatives and clinic incubators.
“(The Fusion sale) is very exciting for the university because it shows the pipelines schools can provide to commercialize research,” she said, adding helping young companies is a priority for Mac leadership.
“We want to increase the impact of our entrepreneurship and commercialization, because that’s what leads to innovations actually being used.”
And that’s the same practical goal Valliant has harboured for Fusion since its inception.
“It’s more than just research,” he said. “We’re trying to get medications into the hands of patients who need them.”