Epix Pharmaceuticals Achieves Discovery Milestone

Epix Pharmaceuticals announced that it has achieved an initial milestone under its collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) related to the first of three discovery stage programs.

Epix said it has identified three lead candidates that it will move forward into lead optimization in this first collaborative G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) discovery program.

Under the collaboration, the company said it is entitled to receive a $3 million milestone payment from GSK.

In December 2006, Epix and GSK announced a worldwide multitarget strategic collaboration to discover, develop and market novel medicines targeting four GPCRs for the treatment of a variety of diseases, including Epix’s novel 5-HT4 partial agonist program, PRX-03140, which is in early-stage clinical development for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

As part of the collaboration, Epix said it received total initial payments of $35 million, including $17.5 million through the purchase of its common stock at a premium, and may be eligible to earn up to $1.2 billion in milestones across the four GPCR programs.