Last summer, Bionomics struck a $172 million discovery deal on new pain meds with Merck ($MRK). And now the pharma giant has come back to the bargaining table to bag a much bigger collaboration with the Adelaide, Australia-based biotech, paying $20 million upfront and promising up to $506 million in milestones to collaborate on a new Alzheimer's drug.
Merck says it will bankroll research on BNC375, a preclinical drug candidate that Bionomics first showed off to the public in late 2012. The biotech has described this therapy as a positive allosteric modulator of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, a pathway in the central nervous system that some investigators believe could play a role in putting the brakes on neurodegeneration and improve cognition, which theoretically could be used to treat a host of CNS diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and possibly schizophrenia.
In its first release on the drug 18 months ago, Bionomics touted its potential for partnering, touting preclinical results showing that the drug beat out Pfizer's ($PFE) Donepezil in animal studies. It's worth noting, though, that a host of positive animal studies have already paved the way to dozens of clinical failures when it comes to Alzheimer's.
Big Pharma is certainly no stranger to failed Alzheimer's programs. But Merck has persevered, recently launching a late-stage trial for MK-8931, one of the controversial BACE inhibitors now in the clinic--a treatment group that once again is testing an unproven hypothesis that targeting amyloid beta can slow the memory-wasting disease.
"Bionomics' capabilities and overall expertise in discovery and characterization of small molecules for this neuroscience target class is impressive," said Dr. Rupert Vessey, head of Early Development and Discovery Sciences at Merck Research Laboratories, in a statement.
Bionomics has been on quite a roller coaster ride. Last March the biotech's stock plunged after its lead cancer drug failed a Phase II combination study with Afinitor. The biotech has inked pacts with Ironwood on an anti-anxiety drug and partnered with Merck Serono on MS all the way back in 2008.
Bionomics' shares surged 17% on its pact with Merck.
- here's the release