October 14, 2004
NOVEL AGREEMENT WITH QUINTILES/PHARMABIO DEVELOPMENT ACCELERATES THROUGHPUT OF SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS RD PIPELINE
Clinical development specialist endorses SOLVAY’S R&D Portfolio
SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS and QUINTILES today announce, with immediate effect, a novel agreement that will effectively double the capacity to process SOLVAY’S early clinical projects.
Under the agreement, PHARMABIO DEVELOPMENT, QUINTILES’ partnering affiliate, will provide $25m of QUINTILES’ development services for selected SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS clinical phase-two projects, thereby bearing around 50% of the normal costs and the uncertainties of the outcomes for these projects. In return, PHARMABIO will receive a milestone payment from SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS for each of the compounds reaching positive clinical proof-of-principle and moving into further development. Following on from previously announced deals between SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS and LUNDBECK and WYETH for schizophrenia treatments, and SOLVAY and BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB for obesity treatments, this agreement with QUINTILES constitutes further third-party interest in the potential of SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS’ pipeline.
Werner Cautreels, Global Head of Research & Development for SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS is enthusiastic about this agreement: “We are very pleased with QUINTILES’ interest in the potential of our pipeline and with the increased skills and resources that this deal brings. With them, we can double our early clinical steps and deliver more new treatments in the future.”
QUINTILES’ expertise and ability to effectively execute early phase clinical development projects added to SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS’ extensive development pipeline, resulting from their productive drug discovery processes, increases the probability of maximizing the value of the SOLVAY portfolio.
QUINTILES will also benefit as projects move more swiftly into phase 3 clinical developments and thus generate more clinical work for them to be funded by SOLVAY under pre-existing preferred partnership agreements. The deal structure is novel for both companies, and it is thought to be the first time that a research-based pharmaceutical company has attracted this type of risk-bearing investments from a contract research organization.
“This agreement is a natural next step in the evolution of our partnership with SOLVAY,” said Dennis Gillings, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of QUINTILES. “We are delighted to help our partner advance more drug candidates through the development process.”
SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS is the pharmaceuticals business arm of SOLVAY. It is a research driven pharmaceutical company that seeks to fulfill carefully selected, unmet medical needs in the therapeutic areas of cardiology, gastroenterology, mental health and gynecology/andrology. SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS employs more than 7500 people worldwide. For more information, visit solvaypharmaceuticals.com.
SOLVAY is an international chemicals and pharmaceuticals group with headquarters in Brussels. It employs more than 30000 people in 50 countries. In 2003 consolidated sales amounted to EUR 7.6 billion generated by its three activity sectors: Chemicals, Plastics and Pharmaceuticals. SOLVAY is listed on the Euronext 100 index of top European companies. Details are available at www.solvay.com.
#See press release of July 18, 2001
Fo further information please contact:
Martial Tardy , Corporate Press OfficerSOLVAY S.A.
Tel: 32 2 509 72 30
Fax: 32 2 509 72 40
E-mail : martial.tardy@solvay.com