Jan. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Diversa Corporation (Nasdaq: DVSA - news) and IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IBPI - news) today announced the signing of a drug discovery, development and licensing agreement. Under the terms of this agreement, the companies will work together to identify and develop novel small molecule drugs derived from Diversa's recombinant natural product libraries that demonstrate antibacterial or antifungal properties.
Diversa will receive technology access fees, research support, and success-based milestone payments for each drug developed as well as royalties on any products commercialized under the agreement. In exchange, IntraBiotics will have an exclusive, worldwide license to resulting products identified. The non-exclusive deal is valued at approximately $20 million for worldwide commercialization of a single compound, excluding royalties.
``We believe that this collaboration with IntraBiotics creates a formidable drug discovery and development team to identify drugs for the prevention and treatment of serious infectious diseases,'' stated Dr. Jay M. Short, President and Chief Executive Officer of Diversa Corporation. ``New therapeutics are needed to overcome the growing problem of microbial drug resistance. Screening for gene pathways from microbes that have evolved in diverse environments can lead to the discovery of novel ways of attacking the problem of drug-resistance.''
Kenneth J. Kelley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IntraBiotics, said, ``We are excited by the opportunity to extend our research and discovery capabilities by partnering with Diversa. This agreement is an important step in building a fully integrated business that can move novel products from discovery through clinical development and commercialization. This collaboration is intended to fuel a more robust early-stage drug development portfolio and help sustain a steady stream of product leads into our development pipeline over the longer term.''
IntraBiotics and Diversa will work closely together on the design of antimicrobial drug screens that will be used to screen Diversa's PathwayLibraries(TM), which are novel libraries of natural products generated by recombinant methods from environmental samples. Drug candidates exhibiting novel chemical structures would then be developed by IntraBiotics to treat or prevent serious bacterial or fungal infections.... |
