What’s in a name? For pharmaceutical and biotech companies, a lot. The past 12 months have seen a spate of companies changing their names to better reflect their mission, focus and vision. The year kicked off with the biggest among them when J&J shed the decades-old Janssen name and rechristened its pharmaceutical segment Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine.
The move “better conveys the relationship and our focus on addressing the most complex diseases in the areas of oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular, pulmonary hypertension, and retina and to develop the potential medicines of tomorrow,” Vanessa Broadhurst, Johnson & Johnson’s executive vice president, global corporate affairs, told PharmaVoice via email earlier this year.
Companies frequently change their names for a variety of reasons — to more clearly communicate their new focus or to distance themselves from a problematic past the way Purdue Pharma rebranded into Knoa Pharmaceuticals to rid itself of its Oxycontin stain.
Here are four notable name changes from the last year and why the companies pivoted.
BeiGene becomes BeOne Medicines
After its 2010 launch, the name BeiGene originally reflected the company’s connection to the Chinese market. But the biopharma has grown its footprint — and global focus — in the years since.
With a blockbuster next-generation BTK inhibitor Brukinsa under its belt, the oncology-focused company is jockeying for a position as a blood cancer leader with a deep hematology pipeline. It’s also developing several solid tumor candidates and scored an FDA approval earlier this year for the advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma drug Tevimbra.
Now, the company, which announced its intention to rebrand in November, is “moving to a new identity that reflects our purpose-driven ethos to unite the broader community against cancer,” according to Shreya Jani, senior vice president of corporate affairs.
“BeOne Medicines reaffirms our commitment to develop innovative medicines to eliminate cancer by partnering with the global community to serve as many patients as possible,” she told PharmaVoice via email. “With leadership in hematology, one of the most compelling pipelines, a growing multinational presence and revenues, we’re strongly positioned for continued growth and leadership in this next evolution of our company.”
Vaccitech becomes Barinthus Biotherapeutics
“You don’t want to be ruled out just because of your name,” Barinthus Biotherapeutics CEO Bill Enright told PharmaVoice earlier this year. “And that’s what I thought was happening.”
As Vaccitech, the company made global headlines as the co-inventor of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Between its claim to fame and its name, the company portrayed a specialty in vaccines. But the University of Oxford spinout has a number of therapeutic programs developing antigen-specific immunotherapies that guide T cells to fight disease.
The company’s lead asset is a “potential functional cure for hepatitis B” in phase 2 trials that combines its viral vector platform, ChAdOx, and a Modified vaccinia Ankara vector. It’s also developing candidates in autoimmune disease and oncology.
For Barinthus, the new name “more accurately reflects where the company is going and the success we’ve had on the therapeutic side,” Enright said.
In Arthurian legend, Barinthus was a guide who helped King Authur navigate to Avalon to be healed after getting wounded in battle.
“That kind of resonated with our U.K. roots and the mythical characters of Oxford,” he said. “We’re focused on guiding the immune system to heal patients by stimulating T cells. There are some parallels there that I think worked really well for us.”
Cullinan Oncology becomes Cullinan Therapeutics
Cullinan’s name change is subtle, but meaningful.
Although the company still has clinical-stage oncology candidates in the pipeline, including zipalertinib, a non-small cell lung cancer treatment which generated positive pivotal phase 2b results in September, Cullinan is expanding its focus beyond cancer and into the immunology realm.
In particular, it’s switching the focus of its asset CLN-978 from non-Hodgkin lymphoma to autoimmune diseases, with systemic lupus erythematosus as a first indication. The candidate is currently in the IND-enabling phase.
“The company believes that CLN-978 could offer a novel solution for patients and providers as a T cell engager designed to deliver potency with off-the-shelf convenience and subcutaneous dosing,” Cullinan said in a release last spring.
The name change is part of that bigger strategic plan.
“The corporate name change to Cullinan Therapeutics reflects the company’s transformation as it pursues new indications for autoimmune diseases and continues to advance its clinical-stage oncology pipeline,” the company said. “The new corporate name represents both the expanded therapeutic focus area and Cullinan Therapeutics’ vision to evolve to a commercial-stage biotech company.”
Eliem Therapeutics becomes Climb Bio
After acquiring Tenet Medicines and its lead asset, the monoclonal antibody budoprutug, Eliem Therapeutics shifted its focus away from neuronal excitability disorders to developing an immune-mediated diseases pipeline. The company’s logo and website got a refresh too, along with a slogan that reflects its new name, Climb Bio: “Together, we can reach higher ground.”
“Our new name pays homage to the journey patients with autoimmune diseases must travel and to the work required to develop new treatments with them in mind,” Dr. Aoife Brennan, CEO of Climb Bio, said in a statement announcing the name change in October. “We’re dedicated to building a leading biotechnology company around budoprutug and advancing important medicines for patients.”
The fresh start comes after the company said it planned to “explore strategic alternatives” to its neuronal excitability disorder pipeline. In November, Climb reported that budoprutug was cleared for phase 1 trials in lupus.
