DEVELOPMENT DEAL APPROVED BETWEEN TARGACEPT, ASTRAZENECA

Biopharmaceutical firm Targacept has received federal antitrust clearance to finalize an agreement with AstraZeneca to develop Targacept's experimental compounds for cognitive disorders.

The deal become effective following the early termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, the firm said Feb. 6. Targacept has received a $10 million initial payment from AstraZeneca, it added.

In December 2005, AstraZeneca announced it would pay up to $300 million to Targacept as part of an exclusive global licensing and research collaboration agreement to develop Targacept's Phase II compound, TC-1734, to treat Alzheimer's, cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and other cognitive disorders.

The agreement also provides for a four-year research collaboration under which Targacept will use its proprietary drug discovery technology known as Pentad to discover additional compounds.