Under the terms of the agreement, valued at up to $35 million, Celtic will take an equity stake in Inspiration as well as provide clinical development expertise and funding for Inspiration’s lead Factor IX product, which is scheduled to enter Phase I safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy studies in 2008.
John Taylor, co-founder and chairman of Inspiration, said: “We have chosen Celtic as a partner at this stage of our business model because of its ability to offer development expertise as well as capital. This will allow Inspiration to continue to pursue strategic partnerships for Factor IX as well as the other products Inspiration has in development.”