Baxter, Velocity, Mayo Clinic create Vitesse

The Baxter Ventures arm of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX), the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.) and Velocity Pharmaceutical Development (South San Francisco, Calif.) formed Vitesse Biologics LLC (South San Francisco, Calif.), a newco that intends to develop antibody and protein-based therapies for immunology, hematology and oncology.

Baxter's BioScience unit, which is spinning out this year as Baxalta Inc., will have the exclusive option to acquire each program Vitesse develops following Phase I studies. ...