Cerulean Pharma, a clinical-stage company developing nanoparticle-drug conjugates (NDCs), today announced that the Company has entered into a strategic collaboration with Novartis to develop NDC product candidates combining Cerulean’s proprietary Dynamic Tumor Targeting technology with Novartis’ proprietary compounds directed at up to five targets. Cerulean will create NDC candidates, and Novartis is responsible for further development and commercialization of NDC products resulting from the collaboration.
Under terms of the agreement, Cerulean will receive an upfront payment of $5 million plus funding for five full-time equivalents. Cerulean is also eligible to receive preclinical, clinical, regulatory, and sales milestones for each target. In addition, following regulatory approval of NDC products, Cerulean can earn single-digit to low double-digit tiered royalties on net sales for each NDC product.
“Novartis is widely recognized as one of the world leaders in drug development,” said Christopher D.T. Guiffre, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cerulean. “This collaboration is further validation of our powerful technology platform, and we are excited that Novartis is including NDCs in its drug discovery and development efforts. We are pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to Novartis’ pipeline, and we believe that partnering with them will help accelerate our efforts to provide safer and more effective options to cancer patients.”
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
