Genset And J&J Sign Schizophrenia Deal

French biotechnology company Genset has signed an agreement with Johnson & Johnson's subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutica of the Netherlands to collaborate on the discovery of genes associated with schizophrenia.

The agreement will initially focus on schizophrenia with an option to target a second disease. Under the terms of the agreement, Janssen will fund research during a period of two years. It will make additional payments as certain milestones are met, and will pay royalties on net sales of all products developed with the genes discovered.

In anticipation of the agreement, the Johnson & Johnson Developnent Corporation made an equity investment in Genset last May of around $4 million.