Posted on 28/09/2006 in Pharmaceutical Company Financials SR Pharma, a UK-based biopharmaceutical company, has announced that its susbsidiary, Atugen, could stand to gain $95 million (50 million pounds) thanks to a new collaboration between Pfizer and Quark Biotech.
Pfizer has acquired an exclusive worldwide licence for the novel gene RTP-801 and molecules that alter its expression or modify, for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration.
Because the product was developed between Quark and Atugen using RNA interference technology (siRNA), SR Pharma will receive an initial payment of $2 million and another $1.5 million on the commencement of the first phase I clinical trial.
Total milestone payments could reach $95 million, including royalties, claims SR.
Thomas Christely, Atugen's chief executive officer, remarked: "This is a break-through for SR Pharma's siRNA therapeutics programs as this represents our first siRNA molecule outlicensed to a large pharma company."
Iain Ross, chairman of SR Pharma, concluded that the deal is a "significant validation" of Atugen's siRNA technology.
Atugen is due to start clinical development of therapeutic molecules in the company's oncology programmes during 2007.
Stanford Rook, SR's other subsidiary, is an immunotherapy-based specialist pharmaceutical company.
Among SR Pharma's licensees are AstraZeneca, Altana, Sankyo, Sanofi-Aventis and Quark.
Two weeks ago, Atugen announced that one of its molecules, Atu027, had shown effectiveness in animal models in inhibiting pancreatic cancer.
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