Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and Roivant Social Ventures (RSV) recently announced an intention to collaborate in developing therapies for traditionally underserved populations and diseases.

RSV is a not-for-profit social impact organization founded by executives from Roivant Sciences that is focused on improving health equity. RSV invests in and incubates early-stage projects that address unmet medical needs.

Specifically, the non-profit will work with the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR) and its Drug Repurposing program. These multidisciplinary teams will seek to identify novel indications for existing medications, particularly generic or shelved compounds. By focusing on compounds with established safety and regulatory records, VICTR and RSV aim to bring treatments to market faster and more affordably. Notably, VICTR and RSV will also incorporate concrete commitments to data transparency, clinical trial diversity, and global affordable access in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) directly into the framework of their collaboration.

Lindsay Androski, Founder and CEO of RSV, said “We have seen firsthand the potential of existing deprioritized drug programs to improve patient lives, through the approval of five drugs developed by Roivant Sciences-founded companies. We are thrilled to partner with VUMC and VICTR and, together, apply this experience and knowledge in a targeted way to help underserved patient populations.”

VICTR is the home of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health. VICTR’s goal is to speed the translation and application of scientific discoveries from the laboratory to improve patient care.

“Our program has always pursued the goal of increasing the efficiency of biomedical development to help generate effective, affordable therapies for patients in need,” said Jill Pulley, MBA, the Executive Director of VICTR. “This academic-philanthropic relationship is a fantastic example of how collaboration can help increase our scope and capabilities as we continue to pursue our goals.”

VICTR’s Drug Repurposing team consists of a multidisciplinary group of biomedical scientists that has launched multiple clinical trials at VUMC to test new uses for safe, low cost, FDA-approved medications.

“We are very excited to be part of this new relationship, because it brings together two groups with similar goals and complementary skillsets,” said Michael Orr, PhD, a Scientific Manager on the Drug Repurposing team. “These types of collaborations offer incredible promise for developing impactful innovations that are intentionally designed to serve those who need them most.”

For more information about this and other biomedical work at VICTR, visit the website: https://victr.vumc.org/.