Celera Sells Drug Program to Schering AG

Schering AG has acquired Celera Genomics’ cathepsin S inhibitor small molecule drug program for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. The terms of the transaction include an upfront cash payment of $5 million, half of which is payable to Celera upon closing of the agreement. The remaining half will be payable upon the successful transfer of Celera’s cathepsin S inhibitor assets, which is expected to be completed within four months. If this program is successful, it may generate future milestone payments to Celera of as much as $360 million. Celera will also be entitled to royalty payments based on annual sales of any commercialized drugs from the program.

Celera’s cathepsin S inhibitor, CRA-028129, entered a Phase I trial in September 2005 and is being conducted at the Christchurch Clinical Studies Trust (CSST) in Christchurch, New Zealand.

“We are excited by the potential that this cathepsin S inhibitor program has for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and how it will complement our pipeline,” said Darlene Jody, M.D., head of Specialized Therapeutics Global Business Unit at Schering Group. “Multiple sclerosis will be the first indication we will target with this program focusing on our continuing commitment to develop innovative treatments for MS. This will add to our existing Phase III program exploring high dose interferon beta-1b and our Phase II program for alemtuzumab in MS.”

“We’re pleased with this transaction as it combines Schering AG’s expertise in the field of autoimmune diseases with the encouraging data from our cathepsin S inhibitor program thus far,” said Kathy Ordonez, president of Celera Genomics. “This is a significant step for us as it completes our planned exit from small molecule development, allowing us to now focus our resources on our core business of molecular diagnostics and proteomics discovery.”