This development in the collaboration, which was contingent on Pharmacopeia meeting all pre-determined drug candidate criteria, has triggered an undisclosed cash milestone payment to Pharmacopeia. Pharmacopeia will receive additional milestone payments to the extent the compound progresses through clinical development, as well as royalties on commercial sales of any products resulting from the collaboration.
For the past several years, Pharmacopeia and Schering-Plough have been involved in a multi-program collaborative drug discovery and development relationship focused on identifying and optimizing drug candidates for further development and marketing by Schering-Plough.
This latest inflammatory disease compound represents the fifth development candidate to advance as a result of the companies’ ongoing collaborative efforts. To date, Schering- Plough has advanced two of these candidates into phase I clinical trials.
The compound also represents Pharmacopeia’s tenth overall candidate nomination from its various research collaborations.