Monday, October 6, 2008

Galenea, Otsuka extend deal another year

Biopharmaceutical company Galenea Corp. says that it has received a one-year extension to its five-year alliance with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., bringing the total committed funding for the collaboration to over $75 million.

Cambridge-based Galenea and Otsuka of Tokyo have been working together since January 2005 on new therapies for schizophrenia and other central nervous system diseases. Officials at Galenea report that the company has moved several projects in the collaboration forward, including bringing several molecules to the lead optimization stage. Galenea also recently completed construction of new chemistry labs at its Cambridge facility, with help from Otsuka, according to officials.

The original agreement calls for Otsuka to have exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize any drug development candidates generated during the collaboration. Galenea will receive milestone and royalty payments, or alternatively may participate in profit-sharing, from any drug brought to market.

In April 2006, Galanea agreed to sell its siRNA program for the treatment of influenza and other respiratory viruses to Nastech Pharmaceuticals Company Inc., in Bothell, Wash., so it could in-license additional CNS programs to augment its pipeline, company officials say. Galenea would continue to support research collaboration that focuses on developing new drugs for the treatment of schizophrenia and other CNS disorders based on technology developed in the laboratories of Susumu Tonegawa of MIT and Maria Karayiorgou of Rockefeller University.

Galenea Corp., founded in 2004, is a Cambridge biotechnology company focusing on therapies for central nervous system diseases, including schizophrenia.