VERTEX ORAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUG R&D PROGRAM WILL RECEIVE UP TO $30 MIL. from Roussel Uclaf for compounds targeting the interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme, the companies announced Sept. 9. Under the agreement, the French firm Roussel Uclaf will provide the Vertex Inflammation Program, begun in 1991, with 15-30 researchers and up to $30 mil. in milestone and calendar payments for orally active drugs for inflammatory diseases. In exchange, Roussel Uclaf gains exclusive European rights to develop and commercialize drugs resulting from the joint project. Cambridge, Mass.-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals retains exclusive rights in the U.S., Central and South America. Vertex and Roussel Uclaf will copromote any successfully commercialized drug products in Europe and the Americas and will share rights to develop and market the drugs in the Far East, including Japan. Vertex said research into IL-1 beta is in the beginning stages. The company does not expect preclinical trials to begin before 1995. In addition to the R&D funding, the active participation of Roussel Uclaf researchers brings the French firm's expertise in animal pharmacology and medicinal chemistry, Vertex said. Vertex' field of specialization is X-ray crystallography applied to rational drug design. The Roussel Uclaf collaborative program is the second announced by Vertex in 1993. In April, Vertex signed an R&D agreement with the Japanese firm Kissei Pharmaceutical to fund its oral AIDS drug program ("The Pink Sheet" April 19, T&G-12). Under that agreement, Kissei will provide technical assistance and will pay Vertex up to $20 mil. in research funding and milestone payments over three years related to compounds targeting HIV protease enzyme inhibitors. Vertex also has a five-year immunophilins R&D program with Chugai Pharmaceuticals established in October 1990.
Join thousands of industry professionals who rely on Pink Sheet for daily insights
Already a subscriber?
Advanz Pharma would have had to show that the European Commission’s decision to revoke Ocaliva’s conditional marketing approval risked causing serious and irreparable harm, according to lawyers from Van Bael & Bellis.
This is your final call to participate in the survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. The deadline is 20 September.
We are conducting a survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. If there are any changes you’d like to see in coverage topics, article format, or the method in which you access the Pink Sheet – or if you love it how it is – now is the time to have your voice heard.
A new pilot aims to take Brazil closer to ‘digital transformation.’
Pink Sheet reporter and editors discuss the potential impact George Tidmarsh could have as director of the US FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the issues threatening the future of Sarepta’s gene therapy Elevidys.
The European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee, the CHMP, has recommended 14 new medicines for pan-EU approval this month, including five orphan medicines.
The European Medicines Agency says that Eli Lilly's Alzheimer's disease drug should be approved for use in the EU, now that it has re-examined the negative opinion it previously adopted.
