Achillion receives $2.0 million in eight federal grants under QTDP program

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ACHN), a leader in the discovery and development of small molecule drugs to combat the most challenging infectious diseases, today announced that is has been awarded approximately $2.0 million in eight federal grants under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) program.

The QTDP program was created by the United States Congress as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and provides for $1.0 billion to reimburse certain costs paid or incurred during 2009 and 2010 directly related to the conduct of a Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project. The Department of Health and Human Services designated such projects based on the potential for them to result in new therapies to treat areas of unmet medical need, the potential to create and sustain jobs in the U.S. and to advance U.S. competitiveness.

"We are delighted to be awarded these grants in a highly over-subscribed process. This funding will allow us to further advance our robust portfolio of HCV clinical candidates, as well as allow us to capitalize certain of our antibacterial assets," said Mary Kay Fenton, Achillion's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "This award provides non-dilutive funding to help advance our unique therapies for patients with infectious disease."