In January 2005, Ambit and Bristol-Myers Squibb entered into a drug screening collaboration in which Bristol-Myers Squibb used Ambit’s KinomeScan platform to characterize the specificity of certain Bristol-Myers Squibb compounds.
Under the expanded collaboration, Bristol-Myers Squibb will use Ambit’s proprietary technology to rapidly identify, characterize and quantify kinase-small molecule interactions.
Ambit will also conduct preclinical and clinical development of compounds under an exclusive license to one of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s preclinical kinase inhibitor programs, which may result in development-based milestone payments and royalties should the compound receive regulatory approval for commercialization.
“In-licensing this preclinical kinase inhibitor program from Bristol-Myers Squibb complements Ambit’s own internal pipeline of kinase inhibitors for the treatment of cancer,” said Scott Salka, CEO of Ambit.