TransTech and Merck Initiate $26 Million collaboration
collaboration using TransTech's proprietary TTP Translational
Technology to discover and develop novel small molecules for a
therapeutic target of interest to Merck.
Under the terms of the agreement, Merck has the exclusive right to develop and commercialise all compounds directed at the target covered by the collaboration. TransTech are to receive payments of just over $26 million for the discovery, development and marketing approval of a small molecule for the top priority indication.
The agreement also provides milestone payments for the discovery and development of additional small molecules and lower priority indications. TransTech would receive an upfront payment, research support and payments upon the achievement of specified research, clinical and commercialisation milestones. In addition, TransTech would receive royalties on future product sales. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Adnan Mjalli, president of TransTech told DrugResearcher.com that the primary aims and objectives of this collaboration were: "To utilize TTPTranslational Technology in conjunction with Merck's proprietary biology and screens to discover and develop orally effective and save therapeutics."
"TransTech Pharma's automated drug discovery process consists of a series of proprietary software (TTPredict) coupled with practical chemistry (TTPSpace) and biology (TTPScreen) approaches for the translation of knowledge gained from biological data," he said.
The technology already has shown promise against a wide range of biological targets including protein-protein interactions, receptor modulators and enzyme inhibitors, and delivered small-molecule-based pre-clinical and clinical drug candidates for the treatment of diabetes, cancer, inflammation, Alzheimer's disease and thrombosis.
Merv Turner, senior vice president, worldwide licensing and external research at Merck Research Laboratories commented on: "TransTech's platform technology and its ability to rapidly generate high quality lead candidates for difficult biological targets," adding that some of the leads in TransTech's internal programs have progressed to human clinical trials validating the technology.
Commenting on the advantages of TTP Translational Technology, Mjalli said it enabled scientists to reduce screening requirements, either in silico or in vitro, from hundreds of thousands of classical compounds to a maximum of 60,000 chemical probes.
"The TTProbes have reporter capabilities, used as tools for rapid biological target validation, bypassing classical requirements (protein structures, mutations and knock-in/outs)."
"In addition it provides multiple classes of chemo-typically different, highly progressible lead molecules much earlier on the process."
