Epistem Plc, the UK biotechnology and research services company announced today that they have signed a research and development collaboration with Novartis to identify new drug targets and therapeutics across a variety of disease areas.
The collaboration combines Epistem’s stem cell expertise and drug discovery program, with Novartis’ insights into disease pathways and bioinformatics.
Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis will pay Epistem an upfront cash payment of $4m and will provide research funding for 2 years. Novartis has an option to exclusively license targets for development of biotherapeutic products in exchange for license fees, milestone payments and royalties. For each product developed from targets licensed under the agreement, Epistem is eligible to receive up to $45m in milestones. Furthermore, if leads are commercialised, Epistem is eligible to receive tiered royalties on worldwide sales.
Matthew Walls, Epistem CEO, commented: “The collaboration will enable us to accelerate the development of our existing targets with a world class pharmaceutical collaborator and to jointly explore disease opportunities in regenerative medicine.”
Dr Jeffrey Moore, Novel Therapies Division Managing Director said: “The collaboration will leverage each group’s strengths to make novel discoveries leading to advances in treating unmet medical needs across several disease areas.”
For further information on the Company, please visit www.epistem.co.uk or contact:
Matthew Walls, CEO, Epistem Holdings Plc – +44(0) 161 606 7258
Mike Wort/Anna Dunphy, Financial PR/IR, De Facto Communications – +44(0) 202 861 3838
