Partnerships
Avalon owns full commercialization rights to all of our internal product development programs. As these programs mature during the next few years, we will keep some products solely for internal development and expand the potential of others through partnering. In select cases, we will also likely sign additional partnerships based on the use of AvalonRx. We believe this strategy will expand our product pipeline.
Merck
In
March 2007, we entered into a drug discovery, development and commercialization
agreement with Merck & Co., Inc., to identify and develop inhibitors against
an undisclosed target in oncology. Using our AvalonRx
® platform
we will screen a select set of compounds from Merck’s proprietary compound
library and identify hits against this target, which is generally regarded as "undruggable."
We are responsible for the selection of compound families and optimization of
those compounds to a preclinical candidate selection stage. Merck is responsible
for the clinical development, regulatory approval and commercialization of any
resulting product candidates.
astrazeneca/medimmune
In
June 2005, we entered into a drug discovery, development and commercialization
agreement with AstraZeneca/MedImmune, Inc. for the discovery of small molecule therapeutics
in the area of inflammatory diseases. We are using AvalonRx
® to identify
lead compounds. AstraZeneca/MedImmune is responsible for preclinical and clinical testing
of any resulting product candidates, as well as all future development, sales
and marketing activities.
chemdiv
In
July 2006, we entered into a drug discovery, development and commercialization
agreement with ChemDiv, Inc. for small molecule oncology therapeutics. We will
use AvalonRx
® to discover new active compounds in screens against selected
targets and target pathways, which have historically been considered "undruggable."
ChemDiv will provide its Discovery outSource™ services platform, as well
as medicinal and synthetic chemistry for the development of new active compounds.
medarex
In
October 2003, we entered into drug discovery, development and commercialization
collaboration with Medarex for human antibodies against Avalon cancer targets.
Using AvalonRx
®, we have identified key cancer targets based on the amplification
of DNA and over-expression of RNA in certain cancer cells. Medarex is using its
UltiMAb Human Antibody Development System
® to generate antibodies to the
identified disease targets. We intend to jointly develop and commercialize these
antibodies for therapeutic intervention.
novartis
In
September 2005, we entered into an agreement with Novartis for the discovery
of small molecule therapeutics targeted against a pathway selected by Novartis.
Avalon will use AvalonRx
®, its drug discovery and development platform to
screen, identify and characterize compounds from Novartis’ chemical library.
Novartis is responsible for lead optimization, preclinical and clinical testing
of any resulting product candidates, as well as all future development and sales
and marketing activities. In January 2007, the initial agreement term was extended
from 18 months to 30 months.
For more information on business development opportunities, please contact:
Avalon Pharmaceuticals
20358 Seneca Meadows Parkway
Germantown, MD 20876
Tel: 301-556-9900
Fax: 301-556-9910
Email:
bd@avalonrx.com