elbion NV, today announced it has received the first milestone payment from Wyeth under a research and license agreement with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), around elbion’s phosphodiesterase 10 (PDE10) program for CNS disorders. The milestone payment is tied to the successful identification of a preclinical candidate.
elbion and Wyeth are collaborating on the discovery of new chemical entities for the inhibition of PDE10 drawing on elbion’s substantial expertise in PDEs. PDE10 is highly expressed in the neurons in the brain associated with certain neurological and psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia and psychosis.
The research collaboration was initiated by elbion and Wyeth in the beginning of 2007 and both parties are proud to have successfully identified a preclinical candidate within a period of 12 months. In addition to the initial milestone payment, elbion would be entitled to additional payments from Wyeth based on the achievement of further milestones. Payments to elbion under the agreement, including the upfront payment and milestone payments, could total up to $110 million over the life of the agreement. Wyeth will also pay elbion royalties on worldwide annual net sales of products developed under the agreement.
Tom Kronbach, Chief Scientific Officer of elbion said: “We are impressed by the speed and agility of the Wyeth team to rapidly move compounds along the development path. We are excited by the therapeutic potential of these compounds and by our joint ability to optimize all key parameters. We have adopted ambitious goals in our collaboration and see this milestone coming at the right pace.”
Full press release attached.
Contacts elbion NV
Ann De Beuckelaer
Phone: +32 (0) 476 93 45 79
ann.debeuckelaer@elbion.com
elbion NV
Kapucijnenvoer 33
3000 Leuven
Belgium
www.elbion.com
