Today, FORMA announced that Celgene has exercised its option, pursuant to the 2014 collaboration arrangement, to extend its strategic collaboration with FORMA by entering into a second collaboration agreement to evaluate additional therapeutic candidates across important emerging target families in the areas of protein homeostasis, inflammation & immunology, and neurodegeneration.
Upon execution of this agreement, FORMA received an upfront cash payment of $195 million and Celgene was granted an option to license ex-U.S. rights to select current and future drug candidates through October 1, 2019.
Celgene will assume responsibility for all global development activities and costs for in-licensed drug candidates after completion of Phase 1 clinical trials. Under the agreement, FORMA will be eligible to receive milestone payments for licensed drug candidates if certain development, regulatory and sales milestones are achieved.
FORMA retains U.S. rights to all such licensed assets, including responsibility for manufacturing and commercialization in their territory. For products not licensed to Celgene, FORMA will maintain worldwide rights.
In addition, also pursuant to the 2014 collaboration arrangement, Celgene retains the option to enter into one additional collaboration agreement, during which Celgene will have the exclusive option to acquire FORMA, including the U.S. rights to all Celgene-licensed programs, and worldwide rights to other unencumbered, wholly-owned programs within FORMA at that time.
“Our continued collaboration with FORMA is based upon the quality of their drug candidates, their adaptability to enter new emerging areas of biology, and their leadership in fostering a collaborative culture at the forefront of innovation,” said Rupert Vessey, FRCP, DPhil, President of Research and Early Development, Celgene Corporation.
“FORMA has made significant advances by declaring multiple drug candidates with the potential for profound differentiation across a broad range of therapeutic areas, and to date has advanced several Celgene-partnered or wholly-owned by FORMA into the clinic,” said Steven Tregay, Ph.D., CEO and Founder, FORMA Therapeutics.
“The continued expansion of our partnership provides FORMA with sustainability and autonomy to deliver on our research strategy, which aligns well with Celgene’s global strategic directives.”
John Hohneker, M.D., President, Research and Development, FORMA Therapeutics, added, “We are thrilled that Celgene values the innovative science that we are pursuing at FORMA. The continuation of our productive collaboration is a tribute to our team of talented scientists and clinicians who have and continue to bring forth potentially important new medicines for people with cancer and other serious diseases.”