The collaboration will focus on the discovery and advancement of compounds shown to block viral capsid assembly using Prosetta’s proprietary drug discovery platform.
Under the agreement, Bristol-Myers will have the right to develop and commercialize products arising from the research program.
Prosetta will earn an upfront payment and multi-year research funding and is even eligible to receive milestone payments and royalties based on worldwide sales of the drugs emerging from the collaboration.
Prosetta chief technology officer and Co-CEO Vishwanath Lingappa said, "We greatly value this opportunity to collaborate with Bristol-Myers Squibb scientists in a joint program dedicated to a completely new approach to protecting human health against viral infections."
Prosetta currently has a portfolio comprising novel chemical classes of small molecules with antiviral activity which target catalytic host protein interactions essential for the virus, but not the host, which represent a new therapeutic approach for antiviral agents.