Quotient Therapeutics’ platform targets somatic mutations, which the startup contends can help identify a broader scope of genes potentially associated with disease phenotypes. Wednesday’s agreement is part of an existing partnership between Pfizer and Flagship Pioneering.
Pfizer on Wednesday inked another partnership with life sciences incubator Flagship Pioneering to advance two clinical programs for cardiovascular and kidney diseases.
Under the agreement, Pfizer will work with Flagship’s Quotient Therapeutics, a genetics-focused startup that has developed a proprietary Somatic Genomics platform which can reveal new connections between genes and diseases. Instead of focusing on germline mutations—as is typical in the current genomic treatment pipeline—Pfizer and Quotient will look for somatic mutations in the diseased tissues of patients to identify potential therapeutic strategies.
According to Quotient , the Somatic Genomics technology “can identify a broad scope of genes undetected by traditional population genetics approaches,” while also needing samples from fewer patients. The result is a high-resolution look at somatic gene mutations that could potentially drive disease phenotypes, leading to “unprecedented insight and the ability to create truly transformative therapies,” the company contends.
Pfizer and Quotient have yet to reveal the specific cardiovascular and renal indications that they will focus on.
“This strategic collaboration with Flagship provides an opportunity to explore early discovery work with Quotient’s proprietary platform to potentially unlock new targets for cardiovascular and renal disease,” Bill Sessa, chief scientific officer of Pfizer’s internal medicine research unit, said in a statement, noting that the partnership will also leverage the pharma’s “deep cardiometabolic heritage.”
Wednesday’s agreement is part of a broad partnership between Pfizer and Flagship, first signed in July 2023. With a $50 million upfront contribution, Pfizer will be able to access the incubator’s ecosystem of more than 40 biotech companies and platforms, with an eye toward adding 10 new developmental therapies to its pipeline. Flagship also contributed $50 million upfront.
Under this partnership, Pfizer in June 2024 announced a collaboration with Flagship’s ProFound Therapeutics, working to develop first-in-class obesity treatments. ProFound’s platform is focused on protein detection, which will help the pharma identify potential targets and validate their therapeutic potential.
Discovery and research activities under the partnership—including the agreements with ProFound and Quotient—will be led by Pioneering Medicines, Flagship’s in-house unit focused on drug development.
For Pfizer, the Quotient collaboration—and the Flagship deal more broadly—will help the pharma recalibrate its pipeline as it struggles to find its footing in a post-COVID-19 business environment. In March 2024, Pfizer held an oncology-focused investor event where it laid out its strategic plans for cancer in the coming years.
The pharma will refine its focus down to four main cancer types—breast cancer, genitourinary cancers, thoracic cancers and hemato-oncology—while also pivoting away from small molecule drugs and instead leaning heavily on biologics. With this strategy, Pfizer expects to have at least eight potential blockbusters by 2030.
In its first-quarter 2024 earnings report, Pfizer announced four pipeline cuts including a recombinant gene therapy for Wilson disease. The pharma also axed the development of Zavzpret (zavegepant) for the oral prevention of migraine and Velsipity (etrasimod) for atopic dermatitis and alopecia areata.
