Alliance to Develop Inhibitors for Vascular Diseases

A three-year collaboration to develop and commercialize phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors for the prevention and treatment of vascular disease, including stroke, has been announced by Roche (Basel, Switzerland) and deCode genetics (Reykjavik, Iceland).

Under the terms of the alliance, decode will use its structure-based drug design capabilities to optimize lead compounds and begin development. The two companies will share the costs of drug discovery and clinical trials, and decode may receive milestone payments and royalties based on drug sales. DeCode is a biopharmaceutical company applying its discoveries in human genetics to the development of drugs for common diseases. The company's population resources have enabled it to isolate key genes contributing to major public health challenges.

"We are happy to move this from collaborative genetically driven target discovery activities to the next phase of drug research,” noted Jonathan Knowles, president of Global Research at Roche. "This is a good example of modern patient-focused pharmaceutical R&D, which is based increasingly on a fundamental understanding of molecular pathology made accessible through genetics, genomics, and associated disciplines.”





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