HCV Protease R&D Gets Big Pharma Funds

Two companies at the forefront of research into proteases, Corvas andVertex, have attracted financial support from large pharmaceutical firms in the area of hepatitis C virus protease inhibitors. The structure of the HCV NS3 protease was reported in the journal Cell last year (October 18) by researchers from Vertex and Agouron.

Eli Lilly has signed with Vertex in a deal which could be worth over $50 million to the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based firm. The two companies will manage jointly the development of orally-active HCV protease inhibitors right up to marketing. Lilly has exclusive global marketing rights, while Vertex retains manufacturing rights, certain copromotion rights and will receive royalties on sales. As part of the agreement, Lilly will make a $10 million equity investment in Vertex.

Schering-Plough has signed with Corvas, and this is the third collaboration between the firms. Corvas has already applied its combinatorial chemistry technology to find inhibitors of thrombin and Factor Xa in the coagulation cascade for Schering-Plough, and will now extend this program to include HCV protease inhibitors.