Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis will pay Epistem an upfront cash payment of $4 million and will provide research funding for two years. Novartis has an option to exclusively license targets for the development of biotherapeutic products in exchange for license fees, milestone payments and royalties.
Also, for each product developed from targets licensed under the agreement, Epistem is eligible to receive up to $45 million in milestones. Furthermore, if leads are commercialized Epistem is eligible to receive tiered royalties on worldwide sales.
The collaboration combines Epistem’s stem cell expertise and drug discovery program with Novartis’s insights into disease pathways and bioinformatics.
Matthew Walls, Epistem’s CEO, said: “The collaboration will enable us to accelerate the development of our existing targets with a world-class pharmaceutical collaborator and to jointly explore disease opportunities in regenerative medicine.”