The research agreement between ChemGenex and Vernalis, which was signed in August 2004, has a value of approximately A$2 million ($1.6 million) in the first year following milestone achievement.
The partnership funds ongoing activities in the field of depression target discovery, as well as the development of discoveries previously made by ChemGenex. A further licensing and collaboration agreement is proposed in the current agreement and this will be developed over the coming months.
“To date we have identified and protected by patent application ten genes and proteins that are linked to depression, and we are working with Vernalis to validate these targets and move towards lead development,” said Dr Greg Collier, CEO and managing director of ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals.
“There is a real need for targeted new anti-depressants and we believe that our program is leading the way by identifying novel targets and pathways associated with the disease,” he continued.