MRC Technology, Genentech Enter Drug Pact

MRC Technology has entered into an agreement with Genentech, a wholly owned member of the Roche Group, for an exclusive license to a series of small molecule drug candidates for the potential treatment of neurological disease.

Under the agreement, MRC will receive an upfront payment and is eligible to receive clinical development milestones and royalties on sales. Financial terms and the target of the small molecule project were not disclosed.

MRC Technology’s CTD initiated a small molecule drug discovery program that included medicinal chemistry, biology, analytical and DMPK Computational Chemistry. CTD was formed a year ago from the MRC’s Drug Discovery Group. MRC Technology works with targets from the UK’s Medical Research Council and has a pipeline of targets from academic organizations worldwide.

Dr. Dave Tapolczay, chief executive officer of MRC Technology, said, “We are delighted that we have been able to partner this program with Genentech, and extremely pleased that the terms of our agreement reflect the value of the small molecule drug discovery program and support our innovative business model.”