WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FORMA Therapeutics today announced an exclusive alliance with Janssen Biotech, Inc., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, in which the two companies will collaborate on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel small molecule drug candidates that target tumor metabolism mechanisms.
Under the terms of the research collaboration and license option agreement, FORMA will discover and develop drugs against a panel of tumor metabolism targets. FORMA may receive project and milestone funding over several years of up to $700 million if development, regulatory and commercialization milestones are achieved for drug candidates successfully launched through the collaboration. In addition, FORMA may be eligible for royalties on revenues from commercialized products as a result of this collaboration. Further, if certain milestones are achieved during the initial phase of the collaboration, FORMA will have the opportunity to co-develop and maintain North American commercial rights to one program of Janssen’s selection. In addition, the parties can expand the collaboration to include additional targets, including areas beyond tumor metabolism.
Kenneth Bair, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Head of Research and Development of FORMA, said: “This collaboration will enable a broad chemical biology approach to understanding the unique biology underlying cancer metabolism.”
“This collaboration with Janssen Biotech further strengthens our drug discovery capabilities and also allows us to look to the future with an opportunity to maintain North American rights, which is a key element of our strategy to create long-term shareholder value within FORMA,” added Steven Tregay, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of FORMA.
About FORMA Therapeutics
FORMA Therapeutics targets essential cancer pathways to create transformative small molecule cancer therapies. FORMA’s novel approach to accessing high value drug targets, many of which pose significant challenges to conventional discovery approaches, leverages the integration of its innovative drug discovery technologies and oncology expertise, enabling efficient screening, discovery and rational development of small molecule drug candidates with qualified cellular mechanisms of action. FORMA is building a robust pipeline of cancer therapies in areas such as tumor metabolism, protein-protein interactions and epigenetics. FORMA is headquartered in Watertown, MA. www.formatherapeutics.com