AstraZeneca of London, England exercised an option to license Targacept's product candidate TC-5619 and will now pay the Winston-Salem company $2 million.
"Our decision to secure an option to license TC-5619 under our collaboration agreement underscores AstraZeneca's enthusiasm for the promise of (neuronal nicotinic receptors) as a new mechanism for the treatment of cognitive disorders," said Bob Holland, AstraZeneca's vice president and head of the Neuroscience Therapy Area.
Neuronal nicotinic receptors are a class of receptors found in the nervous system that play a critical role in modulating the release of chemicals called neurotransmitters to regulate nervous system activity. The alpha7 receptor subtype has been shown in animal studies to be a key regulator of cognitive function. TC-5619, the lead product candidate in Targacept's alpha7 NNR program, entered Phase I clinical development in July 2007.
Partnership History
In December 2005, Targacept and AstraZeneca entered into an exclusive global license and research collaboration agreement for the development and commercialization of Targacept's proprietary compound TC-1734, which AstraZeneca refers to as AZD3480.
The companies want to use the compound to treat Alzheimer's disease, cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and other cognitive disorders.
Targacept received an initial payment of $10 million from AstraZeneca and a $20 million milestone payment in late 2006.