The agreement, which was signed in August last year, granted Pfizer an option to acquire an exclusive worldwide license, covering proprietary NicOx nitric oxide-donating compounds. The compounds are currently at an early-stage of preclinical development in an undisclosed field.
The payment follows an upfront payment of E1 million which NicOx received on the signing of the agreement. A further E35 million in milestone payments will be paid to NicOx if the collaborative agreement results in the successful development of a commercial product.
NicOx will also receive royalties on the sales of any successful products resulting from the research collaboration.
In this initial phase of the collaboration, Pfizer and NicOx are jointly responsible for the research programs. Upon successful completion of this phase, Pfizer will be responsible for funding the further development and future global commercialization of selected lead compounds.
“To date, NicOx and Pfizer have fulfilled all the planned steps foreseen in the agreement and the collaboration is proceeding well,” commented Michele Garufi, chairman and CEO of NicOx. “We are hopeful that in due course we will meet the first goal of identifying a lead compound for development with the potential to significantly improve treatment of the important disease area under study.”