Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) announced today that it has signed a collaboration option to license and share purchase agreements to invest in US company Cocrystal Discovery Inc. (CDI), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel antiviral therapeutics for the treatment of serious and chronic viral diseases.
This investment will be utilized by CDI to continue its development program of novel antiviral drugs that target viral replication enzymes. Currently, CDI is using its technologies to develop oral, once-a-day, broad-spectrum antivirals for the treatment of Hepatitis C, influenza and rhinovirus (common cold).
Teva will initially invest $7.5 million in CDI, and the company will develop for Teva an antiviral drug targeting the polymerase enzyme of the Hepatitis C virus. Upon completion of the initial development plan, Teva will have the option to make additional investments under certain milestones. Teva will have the right to exclusively license the drug for further development and commercialization, under agreed-upon commercial terms.
“We are delighted with this investment from Teva, a leading global company that develops important new medicines bringing value to patients,” said Nobel Laureate Roger Kornberg, Ph.D., chief scientist at CDI, and a director of Teva. “Through this agreement, CDI is now ideally placed to accelerate the development of our novel platform, which combines high resolution X-ray crystallography with unique and advanced computational methods. It is our hope we can yield new and better drugs for the treatment and prevention of many viral diseases."
Teva also has the option to further invest in CDI for the development of two additional antiviral or antibacterial drugs. For all such investments, Teva will receive up to approximately 23% holdings in CDI.
“This new partnership further illustrates Teva’s commitment to develop innovative therapies,” said Dr. Aharon Schwartz, head of Teva's Innovative Ventures. “If successful, these novel technologies could revolutionize the drug discovery process for antivirals, an area of a high unmet need. We believe this innovative technology offers significant promise for pharmaceutical discovery in areas of strategic importance for Teva.”
Teva has a market cap of $34 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 15, 2011
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