Triad Reports Sale of p38 Kinase Inflammation Program
Tuesday December 7, 11:58 am ET
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Triad Therapeutics announced today the sale of its p38 kinase inhibitor program to Novartis Pharma AG of Basel, Switzerland. Novartis will work toward developing one or more compounds in the Triad collection, or derivatives thereof, for world-wide commercialization for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, Triad will receive an upfront payment and may receive up to $66 million subject to the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones in addition to royalty payments on sales of products. Additional payments are possible for each new indication successfully developed.
p38 is a mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase that regulates the biosynthesis of key cytokines that promote inflammation. Inhibitors of p38 are being developed by a number of companies to treat various inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, irritable bowel disease and osteoarthritis. In 2003, injectable anti-cytokine biologics achieved sales of almost $4 B and have fueled the significant growth seen in the rheumatoid arthritis market over the last few years.
Triad is privately held and is based in San Diego, CA. Its investors include Skyline Ventures, CSFB Private Equity, Genechem Technologies Venture Fund, H&Q Venture Partners, J&J Development Corporation, International Biomedicine Holdings and Invus. |
