Corvas expands its Schering-Plough relationship to Hepatitis C
protease inhibitor:
Schering-Plough and Corvas Announce
Collaboration on Hepatitis Research
MADISON, N.J., and SAN DIEGO, June 12 /PRNewswire/ --
Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) and Corvas
International, Inc. (Nasdaq: CVAS) today announced an
agreement to seek orally bioavailable inhibitors of a key
protease necessary for hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication.
The agreement represents the third collaborative effort
between the two companies focusing on the discovery and
development of protease inhibitors and the first that will
utilize Corvas' proprietary combinatorial chemistry program
to identify and optimize lead protease inhibitors.
Under terms of the agreement, Schering-Plough will receive
an exclusive worldwide license for products developed from
Corvas compounds under the research agreement.
Schering-Plough will be responsible for all development,
manufacturing and marketing of the products. Corvas will
receive licensing fees, research and development funding,
and payments upon reaching certain milestones, in addition
to royalties on sales. Further details of the agreement are
not being disclosed.
"Hepatitis is an increasingly widespread and potentially fatal
disease," said Jonathan R. Spicehandler, M.D., president of
Schering-Plough Research Institute. "This collaboration
complements and enhances our internal antiviral research
program and may offer a potential new pathway to discover
innovative therapies for this medical area," Spicehandler
said.
"We have proven our ability to use our combinatorial
approach to protease inhibitor discovery in our core
cardiovascular research area," said George P. Vlasuk,
Ph.D., Corvas' executive vice president of research and
development. "This agreement provides a model
opportunity to apply this capability to other research areas,
such as hepatitis C, while our internal resources remain
focused on the targets we know best. Schering-Plough's
leadership in the area of antiviral therapeutics makes them
an excellent partner to capitalize on the specific protease
inhibitor candidate for hepatitis C generated from this
alliance," Vlasuk said.
Discovery of oral serine protease inhibitors using
proprietary drug design and combinatorial chemistry
approaches is a key strength at Corvas. Schering- Plough
and Curvas have previously teamed to develop an oral
inhibitor of thrombin, and are working together to discover
inhibitors of Factor Xa, both of which are key enzymes in
the blood coagulation cascade. The hepatitis C virus
contains a vital enzyme that belongs to the family of serine
proteases. Through use of its proprietary combinatorial
chemistry program, Corvas hopes to rapidly identify and
optimize promising lead inhibitors to be evaluated for
possible clinical development under the agreement with
Schering-Plough.
Schering-Plough Research Institute is the pharmaceutical
research and development arm of Schering-Plough
Corporation, a research-based company engaged in the
discovery, development, manufacturing and metering of
pharmaceutical and health care products worldwide.
Corvas International, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company
engaged in the design and development of a new
generation of therapeutic agents for the prevention and
treatment of major cardiovascular and inflammatory
diseases.
For background information on Corvas' technology and
product development programs, please contact Angela
Hartley, Director, Investor Relations at Corvas, at
619-455-9800. For information on Corvas International, Inc.
via facsimile at no cost, call 1-800-PRO-INFO and enter
ticker symbol CVAS. Visit Corvas' Web Site at
www.corvas.com.
Copyright 1997, PR Newswire
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