As per the terms of the agreement, Bristol-Myers Squibb has agreed to pay NeurOp an upfront fee of $1.5m and to fund a two-year research collaboration.
In addition, NeurOp is eligible to receive up to $74m in potential milestone payments for the successful development of a compound in major depression and royalties on worldwide sales of commercialised compounds.
The compound class to be developed comprises NR2B subunit-specific N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists.
Barney Koszalka, president and CEO at NeurOp, said: “We are excited about the research agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb because of their commitment to neuroscience drug development. We believe they are the ideal collaborator to help develop the potential of our NR2B program in depression.
“This alliance validates the pioneering work of NeurOp’s scientific founders, Raymond Dingledine and Stephen Traynelis of Emory University and James McNamara of Duke University.”
Vincent La Terza, head of corporate development at NeurOp, said: “NeurOp’s collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb will explore new treatment options for the millions of patients suffering from major depression who are unable to get relief from available treatments.”