Pharmacopeia acquires B-MS' SARM program

Clinical development-stage biopharmaceutical company Pharmacopeia says it has signed a licensing agreement with fellow USA-based firm Bristol-Myers Squibb, under which it has acquired the latter's selective androgen receptor modulator program. Pharmacopeia said that, in return for the payment of milestones and royalties on the sale of any SARM products that are successfully brought to market, it gains rights to PS178990, a non-steroidal SARM which is currently in Phase I dose-ranging trials as a potential testosterone replacement therapy. The New Jersey-headquartered firm also said that, as an additional stipulation of the acquisition, it has agreed to apply a portion of its medicinal chemistry R&D resources to an unrelated B-MS drug discovery and development project for a period of three years.