Teva invests US$75m in Cocrystal Discovery
CDI will initially develop an antiviral drug for Teva
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries of Israel is to invest in Cocrystal Discovery Inc (CDI), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel antiviral drugs for the treatment of serious and chronic viral diseases.
Teva will initially invest US$7.5m in Bothell, Washington, US-headquartered CDI under which the company will develop an antiviral drug targeting the polymerase enzyme of the Hepatitis C virus.
Upon completion of the initial development plan, Teva will have the option to make additional investments under certain milestones.
Teva will also have the right exclusively to licence the drug for further development and commercialisation, under agreed-upon commercial terms.
‘Through this agreement, CDI is now ideally placed to accelerate the development of our novel platform, which combines high resolution X-ray crystallography with unique and advanced computational methods. It is our hope we can yield new and better drugs for the treatment and prevention of many viral diseases,’ said Roger Kornberg, chief scientist at CDI and member of Teva’s board of directors.
In addition, Teva has the option to further invest in CDI for the development of two additional antiviral or antibacterial drugs.
For all such investments, Teva will receive up to approximately 23% holdings in CDI.