21 March 2018 - - Brussels, Belgium-based biopharmaceutical company UCB (Euronext Brussels: UCB) has elected to exclusively license an undisclosed drug target for inflammatory diseases from South San Francisco, California-based protein drug discovery specialist Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FPRX), the company said.
Five Prime identified the undisclosed target using its discovery platform under the strategic collaboration established with UCB in March 2013 for the discovery of innovative biologics targets and therapeutics.
The company conducted five customized cell-based and in vivo screens of its protein libraries under the collaboration. In the course of screening its protein libraries in the collaboration, Five Prime identified proteins that may be potential drug targets or drug candidates for inflammatory diseases.
Under the collaboration, Five Prime is eligible to receive potential future development, regulatory and sales-based milestones payments, as well as potential royalties on net sales.
UCB is focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines and solutions to transform the lives of people living with severe diseases of the immune system or of the central nervous system.
With more than 7,500 people in approximately 40 countries, the company generated revenue of EUR 4.2bn in 2016.
Five Prime Therapeutics discovers and develops therapeutics to improve the lives of patients with serious diseases.
The company's comprehensive extracellular protein discovery platform positions it to explore pathways in cancer, inflammation, and their intersection in immuno-oncology, an area of growing focus of the company's R and D activities.