Biogen Backs Ontogeny Hedgehog Proteins

Biogen has committed up to $80 million to Ontogeny in return for codevelopment rights to the latter's "hedgehog" cell differentiation proteins, which may be of use in central nervous system diseases such as Parkinson's and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, as well as non-CNS applications.

Three hedgehog proteins are covered under the agreement - called Sonic, Indian and Desert - and Biogen has worldwide rights to therapeutics developed from the proteins in most disease areas, while Ontogeny retains rights to gene therapy and other approaches, as well as certain disease areas and diagnostics.

Hedgehog proteins are a novel class that are thought to be important in inducing the formation or regeneration of tissues. A body of evidence is growing to suggest the importance of these proteins. Studies have shown that hedgehog proteins can: generate motor neurons and plate from embryonic tissue; generate different neural tissues depending upon the concentration of the protein present; stimulate growth of ventral forebrain cells (associated with Alzheimer's disease); and induce spermatogenesis and maturation. In addition, a gene thought to be related to hedgehog function (known as "patched") has been implicated in basal cell carcinoma and basal cell nevus syndrome.