U. of I. and investment firm Deerfield launch Alma Therapeutics to turn campus research into drugs

CHAMPAIGN - The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and health care investment firm Deerfield Management launched Alma Therapeutics on Nov. 2, a public-private partnership meant to turn university research into new treatments, according to the U. of I. News Bureau.

Over the next 10 years, Deerfield may provide substantial funding, along with operational and scientific support, to advance therapy programs developed at Illinois, the university said. It did not give a dollar figure or say how many jobs, if any, the partnership will add locally.

The partnership will be housed at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology on campus and will begin evaluating faculty research this fall. "Alma Therapeutics will work closely with research programs across campus to expedite the discovery of the next generation of therapeutics," said Susan Martinis, the university's senior vice chancellor for research and innovation.

Deerfield has backed Illinois research before: in 2024 it invested in Excelsior Sciences, a company co-founded by chemistry professor Martin D. Burke. Emilio L. Cardenas is managing director of the Alma collaboration, the university said.

Source: U. of I. News Bureau: Alma Therapeutics partnership launches to accelerate translational research (read Nov. 3, 2026).