Array BioPharma and Celgene have signed a drug development deal that will bring Array $11 million up front and could yield $376 million in milestone payments for Array if its experimental drugs reach certain goals, the companies announced Monday.
The companies are collaborating on a preclinical development program that targets a novel inflammation pathway, which Array didn’t identify in a statement today. Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) will have an exclusive option to license clinical development candidates that are discovered because of the collaboration.
Array (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARRY]]) will receive the up-front payment and could receive milestone payments as certain development, regulatory, and sales objectives are met, according to the announcement. Array, which is based in Boulder, CO, will retain all rights to the program if Celgene does not exercise its option.
This is second development agreement between Array and Celgene. The first was reached in 2007 for development of cancer and anti-inflammatory treatments. Under that agreement, Array received $40 million up front from Celgene and $16 million in subsequent payments. The collaboration led to ARRY-382, a treatment for solid tumors that as of late 2012 was in dose escalation studies.
According to the prospectus filed with the SEC as part of a $115 million debt offering, Array’s partnership with Celgene accounted for 32 percent of Array’s revenue in the first quarter of 2013. Array reported revenue of $9.96 million during the quarter.
Since it was founded in 1998, Array has focused on early development of small molecule cancer drugs. The company recently announced it is evolving to focus on late-stage development. Along with Celgene, Array in recent months it has formed partnerships with Novartis and AstraZeneca.
