EPIX Earns GSK Milestone

EPIX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has earned a $3 million milestone payment under its collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline related to the first of three discovery stage programs. EPIX has identified three lead candidates that will move forward into lead optimization in this first G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) discovery program.
   
The two companies entered the multi-target collaboration in December 2006 to discover, develop and market medicines targeting four G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) for the treatment of a variety of diseases. The alliance includes EPIX’s 5-HT4 partial agonist program and PRX-03140, which is in early-stage clinical development for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. As part of the collaboration, EPIX received total initial payments of $35 million, including $17.5 million through the purchase of its common stock, and may be eligible to earn as much as $1.2 billion in milestones across the four GPCR programs. EPIX is also entitled to receive royalties on all product sales resulting from the collaboration. The alliance is conducted through GSK’s Center of Excellence for External Drug Discovery (CEEDD).
   
“We are extremely pleased with the progress of our collaboration with GSK,” stated Michael G. Kauffman, M.D., Ph.D., chief executive officer of EPIX. “In addition to our joint focus on developing PRX-03140, our proprietary 5-HT4 agonist, for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, EPIX and GSK have agreed upon the three discovery program targets and are making significant progress on each program. We are on-schedule and expect to continue moving forward to achieve key milestones across all of our collaborative programs.”
   
“We have been impressed by the quality and efficiency of the lead identification process for this collaborative effort between EPIX and GSK,” said Hugh Cowley, M.D., head of GSK’s CEEDD. “In addition to the PRX-03140 program in Alzheimer’s disease, we are moving forward with EPIX to discover and develop GPCR candidates for the treatment of a variety of diseases. This marks an initial milestone in what we expect will be a long and productive collaboration.”