Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - (Page 10)

10 News & Analysis March 2008 Pharmaceutical Executive Europe JOINING FORCES CHDI Foundation, Inc, a not-forprofit organisation pursuing a biotech approach to finding therapies for Huntington Disease (HD), has extended its collaboration with Evotec AG (Germany) to the end of 2010 to help them advance their Huntington’s Disease drug discovery programmes. This contract extension is worth up to $37 million in research payments for Evotec. The collaboration covers Evotec’s entire drug discovery offering, including its expertise in medicinal chemistry, biology and compound sourcing. Evotec and CHDI have worked together since March 2006. In addition to the recently announced contract extension, the companies also have an agreement whereby Evotec provides ultra-high-throughput screening (uHTS) support. Karo Bio (Sweden) and Zydus Cadila (India) have entered into a three-year research collaboration, focusing on treatments for inflammatory diseases. Specifically, the firms will discover and develop novel, selective glucocorticoid receptor modulators, which are used to treat conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis and asthma. Under the terms of the agreement, financial details of which were not disclosed, Karo Bio says it will leverage its expertise in nuclear receptor drug discovery, while Zydus Cadila will carry out “a focused drug discovery and development programme, undertaking pre-clinical studies, filing of the Investigational New Drug Application and performing human clinical trials.” Vivalis (France) and Kaketsuken (Japan) have extended their collaboration in the testing of Vivalis’s EBx cells for the production of human and veterinary viral vaccine. The extended research license covers two new viruses: one in the field of human disease, the other in the veterinary field. Vivalis has already granted Kaketsuken rights to the EBx cell lines (avian embryonic derived stem cell lines) to evaluate Vivalis EBx platform for the production of Kaketsuken’s human and animal vaccines. Following this amendment, Kaketsuken will have the right to test an aggregate of seven viruses both in human and veterinary fields. Amira Pharmaceuticals (US) and GlaxoSmithKline (UK) have entered into a worldwide exclusive agreement to develop, manufacture and commercialise FLAP (5Lipoxygenase Activating Protein) inhibitors for the treatment of respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Under the terms of the agreement, Amira has granted GSK an exclusive, worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialise Amira’s FLAP inhibitors, including AM103 and other compounds within the current development programme. In the event that all potential development and regulatory milestones are successfully achieved, Amira could receive up to $425 million in upfront and milestone payments. In addition, Amira will be entitled to receive tiered royalty payments based on worldwide net sales and commercial sales milestones. GlaxoSmithKline has licensed exclusive worldwide rights to EUSA Pharma, Inc’s preclinical human anti-interleukin-6 antibody, OP-R003 (acquired as part of EUSA Pharma’s acquisition of OPi SA in 2007), for up to $44 million. This figure includes an upfront fee, development milestones and royalties on future sales. As part of the agreement, EUSA will pay approximately half of the total amount to its development partner, Vaccinex, Inc. GSK will be responsible for all future development, production and commercialization of the product. Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp (US) plans to conduct a clinical study of MEM 3454, the company’s lead nicotinic alpha-7 partial agonist, in patients with schizophrenia, based on two biomarkers, P50 sensory gating and mismatch negativity. Development partner, Roche (Switzerland), will fund the biomarker study and additional formulation and manufacturing activities for MEM 3454 under the companies’ development collaboration for nicotinic alpha-7 receptor agonists. Sanofi pasteur has signed a collaborative research and license agreement with the Statens Serum Institut of Denmark (SSI) for the development and marketing of a new vaccine against tuberculosis (TB). Under the terms of the agreement, SSI has granted sanofi pasteur a license to its technology with regard to the use of certain fusion proteins in the development of a tuberculosis vaccine. The license from SSI includes access to the Intercell IC31 adjuvant. If the development is successful, sanofi pasteur would manufacture the vaccine commercially. Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, Inc has signed an exclusive distribution agreement for the territory of Greece and Cyprus with EUSA Pharma Ltd, for two drugs to treat acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL): Erwinase (Erwinase chrysanthemi L-asparaginase, crisantaspase) and Kidrolase (Escherichia coli Lasparaginase). ZARS Pharma, Inc has agreed to provide Galderma Pharma SA the exclusive promotion and distribution rights for all markets outside the US and Canada for Pliaglis (lidocaine and tetracaine) Cream 7%/7%, a topical anaesthetic that provides local anesthesia in patients undergoing potentially painful cosmetic and other skin treatment procedures.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008

Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008
Contents
From the Editor
News and Analysis
Brussels Report
Calendar
The Next Wave of Pharma Talent
The New World Order
Share of Voice to Share of Care
Notes on a Meeting
The Malta Story
Motivation Across Borders
The Mix
No GUTs, No Global
Green is Good
Last Word

Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008