AMRI receives Bristol-Myers milestone payment

Albany Molecular Research, Inc (AMRI) has announced that a compound being developed under its agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company will proceed into preclinical development, triggering a US$1.5m payment to AMRI.

This marks the first milestone in the ongoing research collaboration between the two companies to develop improved treatments for depression and diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).

Under the 2005 licensing agreement, Bristol-Myers Squibb received an exclusive license to develop and commercialise a series of biogenic amine reuptake inhibitors from AMRI's proprietary research program. Specifically, the payment results from the nomination of a clinical candidate and subsequent advancement of that candidate into preclinical toxicity and safety testing by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Pending favorable results in these advanced tests, the compound may eventually be moved into Phase I clinical testing in humans, at which point an additional milestone payment would be triggered.

The nominated compound is a biogenic amine reuptake inhibitor acting at multiple targets, which may represent a new class of therapeutic agents that could lead to an improved treatment for depression or other CNS disease indications. The two companies will continue to evaluate additional compounds for development, as the nominated compound announced today progresses further along the development pipeline.

Under the original agreement, AMRI is eligible to receive up to $66m per compound in development and regulatory milestone payments for the first two compounds and additional payments of up to $22m per compound on subsequent compounds. In addition, AMRI will receive royalties on worldwide sales of commercialised compounds.