LONDON, UK--(MARKET WIRE)--Jan 23, 2007 -- Munich, Germany, and London, UK, 23 January 2007 - Trigen, the cardiovascular drug discovery and development company today announced that it has entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. granting Trigen development and commercialisation rights in relation to patents covering GPVI, a key target receptor in regulating platelet adhesion during thrombosis. Under the agreement Millennium will receive upfront payments, payments for development and regulatory milestones, and sales royalties on future products covered by the acquired intellectual property. Specific financial details were not disclosed.
GPVI (glycoprotein VI) is a key collagen receptor on the platelet surface. Its contact with ruptured atherosclerotic plaques initiates activation and subsequent aggregation of platelets to form a clot. Heart attacks and strokes occur when such clots form in the coronary arteries or in the cerebral circulation.
Trigen has a range of GPVI-related programmes including its lesion-specific anti-thrombotic agent, PR-15, which was acquired through the merger with ProCorde GmbH in April 2005 along with state-of-the-art R & D capabilities directed at this novel target.
GPVI modulators have the potential to prevent arterial thrombosis during acute coronary syndromes more effectively than existing agents by acting earlier in the platelet activation process and may therefore represent a new generation of anti-thrombotic agents.
“Since our merger with ProCorde in 2005, we have expanded our activities focused on the GPVI mechanism. We are now convinced that this is a target with the potential to yield revolutionary new therapies for the management of arterial thrombosis and associated pathologies. Obtaining a license to these patents from Millennium cements our dominant position in what we believe is a very promising area of cardiovascular research,” commented Dr Sanjay Kakkar, Trigen’s CEO.
Oliver Boucher, VP of Commercial Development at Trigen, added “In the context of our expanding pipeline, we are pleased to have secured these important IP rights. The agreement we have signed provides us with very broad control of the GPVI target and its therapeutic applications”.
About Trigen
Trigen is a biopharmaceutical company, with operations in London and Munich and a leader in cardiovascular drug discovery and development, focusing on thrombosis and vascular dysfunction. Its product pipeline includes clinical-stage candidates TGN 255 and PR-15. The company also has an extensive portfolio of exciting pre-clinical and discovery stage programmes targeting thrombosis, atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular pathologies. In addition, Trigen benefits from two established discovery platforms, SIGSCREEN® and THROMSCAN® which have been applied in collaborations with a number of multinational pharmaceutical companies. For further information on Trigen please refer to the company website at http://www.trigen.co.uk or http://www.trigen.de
Contact Details:
Ashley Tapp Head of Corporate Communications Trigen Tel: +44 (0)20 7004 2653 Mob: +44 (0)7944 570387 Email: atapp@trigen.co.uk
Mary Clark Capital MS&L Tel: +44 (0)20 7307 5336 Email: mary.clark@capitalmsl.com Copyright © Hugin ASA 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact: Source: Trigen
