Meiji Seika Granted Rights to Develop and Commercialize Products in Asian Territory; ACADIA Retains All Rights in the Rest of the World
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 25, 2009--
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:ACAD) and Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd.
(TSE:2202) today announced that they have established a collaboration to
develop and commercialize a novel class of pro-cognitive drugs to treat
patients with schizophrenia and related disorders in Japan and several
other Asian countries. The collaboration will focus on developing a
product candidate, which was discovered by ACADIA and has been nominated
by the parties for IND-track development.
“We are very pleased to be working with ACADIA having strong expertise
within CNS drug discovery. We trust this collaboration will boost our
portfolio of psychiatric products, a strategic therapeutic focus area
for Meiji Seika,” said Osamu Makabe, Ph.D., Senior Vice President,
Research and Development of Meiji Seika. “The exciting profile of this
class of drugs may offer a promising new approach to treating
schizophrenia and related disorders, including the potential to address
cognitive disturbances frequently experienced by these patients, which
represents an area of major unmet medical need.”
“We are delighted to establish this innovative partnership with Meiji
Seika,” said Uli Hacksell, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of ACADIA.
“With its strong development and commercial capabilities and focus on
CNS disorders, we believe Meiji Seika is an excellent partner to help
advance the development of this exciting program and to commercialize in
Japan and other Asian markets.”
The collaboration is based on a novel class of compounds that combine
muscarinic m1 agonism with dopamine and serotonin receptor antagonism.
These compounds have demonstrated a unique combination of pro-cognitive
and antipsychotic activity in preclinical behavioral models. The
companies plan to initiate IND-enabling studies and co-develop a product
candidate through completion of proof-of-concept clinical studies. Meiji
Seika has exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the product in
Japan and several other Asian countries. ACADIA retains the right to
develop and commercialize the product in the rest of the world,
including the U.S. and Europe. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement,
ACADIA is eligible to receive from Meiji Seika up to $25 million in
aggregate payments, including upfront fees, and development and
regulatory milestone payments, as well as royalties on product sales in
the Asian territory, if the product is commercialized successfully.
Meiji Seika is responsible for the initial development expenses up to a
specified level and the companies will share the remaining expenses
through clinical proof-of-concept. Meiji Seika is responsible for all
costs associated with the development, manufacturing and
commercialization of the product in the Asian territory after
proof-of-concept. Meiji Seika is eligible to share a portion of any
product-related revenues received by ACADIA in the rest of the world.
About Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a chronic, debilitating mental illness characterized by
disturbances in thinking, emotional reaction, and behavior.
Approximately one percent of the population develops schizophrenia
during their lifetime and more than two million people in the United
States suffer from this disease. Disturbances associated with
schizophrenia may include positive symptoms, such as hallucinations and
delusions, and a range of negative symptoms, including loss of interest
and emotional withdrawal, as well as cognitive disturbances. It is
believed that cognitive disturbances prevent patients with schizophrenia
from readjusting to society. As a result, patients with schizophrenia
are normally required to be under medical care for their entire lives.
Currently prescribed treatments do not effectively address or may
exacerbate cognitive disturbances associated with schizophrenia.
About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals
ACADIA is a biopharmaceutical company utilizing innovative technology to
fuel drug discovery and clinical development of novel treatments for
central nervous system disorders. ACADIA’s most advanced product
candidates include pimavanserin in Phase III for Parkinson’s disease
psychosis, a product candidate in Phase II for chronic pain and a
product candidate in Phase I for glaucoma, both in collaboration with
Allergan, as well as additional compounds in IND-track development. All
of the product candidates in ACADIA’s pipeline emanate from discoveries
made using its proprietary drug discovery platform. ACADIA maintains a
website at www.acadia-pharm.com
to which ACADIA regularly posts copies of its press releases as well as
additional information and through which interested parties can
subscribe to receive email alerts.
About Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd.
Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd. is located in Tokyo, Japan and is operating its
business in the fields of confectionaries and pharmaceuticals. In the
pharmaceutical division, Meiji Seika is dedicated to the discovery,
development and commercialization of a wide variety of pharmaceutical
products throughout Japan and some countries outside of Japan, as well.
The main areas of its interest are infectious disease and central
nervous system disorders. For more information on Meiji Seika, please
visit the company’s website at www.meiji.co.jp.
ACADIA Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in
nature are forward-looking statements. These statements include but are
not limited to statements related to the benefits to be derived from the
class of compounds subject to the collaboration, including efficacy for
various indications and pro-cognitive benefits, the development and
clinical research plans for this class of compounds, and future payments
that may be made pursuant to the collaboration agreement. These
statements are only predictions based on current information and
expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual
events or results may differ materially from those projected in any of
such statements due to various factors, including the risks and
uncertainties inherent in drug discovery, development and
commercialization, and collaborations with others, and the fact that
past results may not be indicative of future findings. For a discussion
of these and other factors, please refer to ACADIA’s annual report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 as well as other
subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. This caution is made
under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements are qualified in
their entirety by this cautionary statement and ACADIA undertakes no
obligation to revise or update this press release to reflect events or
circumstances after the date hereof.
Source: ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc.
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Lisa Barthelemy, Director, Investor
Relations
Thomas H. Aasen, Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer
(858) 558-2871