Wyeth enters three major collaborations

On February 5, US drug major Wyeth signed research and license agreements with three separate companies in the areas of hemophilia and schizophrenia. The only deal for which the firm released financial details involves elbion NV, a Belgian specialty pharmaceutical focused on neurology and immunology. Wyeth licensed elbion's phosphodiesterase 10 program for central nervous system disorders with an initial focus on schizophrenia. The agreement includes an upfront payment, milestones and research funding potentially totalling up to $110.0 million over the life of the accord, as well as royalties on worldwide annual net sales of resulting products.

Wyeth noted that PDE 10 is highly expressed in the neurons in the brain associated with neurological and psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia and psychosis. By inhibiting PDE10 activity, it hopes that the function of neurons could be improved, offering a new mechanism of action for the treatment of schizophrenia, an area of high unmet medical need, the US firm noted.

Under the terms of the deal, Wyeth will be responsible for further clinical development of selected compounds, while the research work supporting the collaboration will be carried out at elbion's R&D facility at Radebeul, Germany, and will also involve scientists at its headquarters in Leuven.