Forma Achieves First Milestone In Celgene Collaboration

Forma Therapeutics said today it earned its first milestone payment from Celgene for successfully meeting the first objective under a collaboration launched in April to discover, develop, and commercialize protein homeostasis target-regulating drug candidates.

The size of the milestone payment was undisclosed.

Celgene agreed to make up to $200 million in research and early development payments under the collaboration, which was intended to incentivize Forma to advance its full complement of drug candidates through Phase I. Celgene will be responsible for all further global clinical development for each candidate licensed through the collaboration.

Forma and Celgene agreed under their collaboration to carry out initial R&D for four years. The companies agreed to enter into a prenegotiated license agreement for each drug candidate that met undisclosed criteria, then continue their collaboration until all license agreements and all applicable royalty terms covering particular products had expired.

Unless terminated sooner, each license agreement lasts until expiration of all applicable royalty terms. For each license agreement that expires, the companies agreed, Celgene will have an exclusive, fully paid, royalty-free license to use the applicable Forma intellectual property to manufacture, market, use, and sell the product developed under such agreements outside the United States.

"Our collaboration with Celgene was structured to enable our companies to broadly and rapidly explore key pathways in the field of protein homeostasis for innovative drug development," Kenneth W. Bair, Ph.D., Forma's CSO and head of R&D, said in a statement. "Our rapid progress in the first five months of our collaboration with Celgene underscores our joint commitment to establishing a leadership position in the area of protein homeostasis, advancing innovative new drugs for oncology, and improving the lives of patients worldwide." 

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