WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Jan 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/-- The Piedmont Triad Research Park (PTRP), today announced plans for Targacept, Inc. to expand its office and laboratory space at One Technology Place in the PTRP. Targacept currently occupies two floors of the building, a total of approximately 40,000 square feet, pursuant to a lease with Wake Forest University Health Services. Targacept and Wake Forest have recently amended the lease to include approximately 17,000 square feet of additional laboratory and office space on a third floor and to extend the lease term through July 2012.
Targacept’s expansion follows the announcement in December that the company’s collaborator, AstraZeneca, would continue development of AZD3480 (TC-1734), Targacept’s novel product candidate for Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Targacept has also recently announced its initiation of a Phase II clinical trial for TC-2696, its product candidate for acute post-operative pain, and the initiation of a Phase I clinical trial for TC-2216, the company’s product candidate for depression and anxiety disorders. In November 2006, Targacept reported positive top line results from a Phase II clinical trial of TRIDMAC(TM), which evaluated mecamylamine hydrochloride as an augmentation therapy for major depression.
“We are delighted that Targacept has flourished during its first five years in the Research Park,” said Richard H. Dean, M.D., president and CEO of Wake Forest University Health Sciences (WFUHS). “We are gratified that PTRP and Wake Forest have been able to provide Targacept with the sophisticated laboratory facilities it needs for continued success.”
“Targacept is fortunate both to be in the PTRP and to have Wake Forest as our landlord,” said J. Donald deBethizy, Ph.D., President and CEO of Targacept. “Their flexibility and support have allowed us, as an emerging company, to benefit from premier space that rivals that of larger pharmaceutical companies.”
About the Piedmont Triad Research Park
The Piedmont Triad Research Park is a highly interactive, master-planned urban based park located in downtown Winston-Salem, NC that provides office and laboratory facilities to biomedical and information technology tenants. Currently comprising six buildings providing 554,000 square feet of wet lab, office, meeting, and residential space, the park is home to 15 life science companies, 10 information technology, and 9 business services tenants. Collectively, these 34 tenants employ 798 university and corporate personnel with an annual payroll that exceeds $40 million. PTRP expansion, led by Wake Forest University Health Sciences and its affiliates, is underway to create a total 5.7 million gross square feet of mixed use research park space, reclaiming 200 acres of the city’s downtown area over the next 20-30 years.
About Targacept
Targacept is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops NNR Therapeutics(TM), a new class of drugs for the treatment of central nervous system diseases and disorders. Targacept’s product candidates selectively modulate neuronal nicotinic receptors that serve as key regulators of the nervous system activity to promote therapeutic effects and limit adverse side effects. Targacept has product candidates in development for Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, pain and depression, and multiple preclinical programs. Targacept is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. For more information about Targacept, please visit http://www.targacept.com .
TRIDMAC(TM) and NNR Therapeutics(TM) are trademarks of Targacept, Inc.
The Piedmont Triad Research Park
CONTACT: Nancy V. Johnston of Piedmont Triad Research Park,+1-336-716-8508, or nvjohnst@wfubmc.edu
Web site: http://www.targacept.com/
