Vernalis and Servier form oncology collaboration

Under the terms of the collaboration, which uses Vernalis’s proprietary fragment and structure-based drug discovery platform on this undisclosed cancer target, Vernalis will receive fees and a share in the downstream success of the product in the form of milestones and royalties on sales, the terms of which have not been disclosed.

Vernalis and Servier already have an existing collaborative agreement to develop two promising oncology targets involved in protein-protein interactions.

Ian Garland, CEO of Vernalis, said: “This latest collaboration with Servier confirms our excellent working relationship and Servier’s recognition of the quality of our fragment and structure-based drug discovery platform. We are currently using this platform to progress two promising oncology targets involved in protein-protein interactions under our existing collaboration, as well as a number of our own internal research programs.”

Emmanuel Canet, president of Servier R&D, said: “We are benefiting significantly from our existing relationship with Vernalis as part of our strategy to increase our efforts in the development of novel anti-cancer therapeutic approaches. This new collaboration will further expedite the discovery of innovative compounds with potential use in therapeutic indications with high unmet medical need.”