Pieris AG claimed validation for its work on a new drug class along with $10 million in an upfront fee from Allergan as it forged a collaboration pact covering new therapies for ocular diseases.
Allergan is handing over the money and any added respect it confers in exchange for Pieris' help optimizing and designing new drug leads produced by the German company's Anticalins drug platform. Anticalins are proteins based on lipocalins found in body fluids which have the ability to bind with great specificity to disease targets in the body.
"Allergan has world class expertise in ophthalmology, and we look forward to working together to develop Anticalins as important medicines for the treatment of a number of ocular diseases. This collaboration further validates the potential for Anticalins as a new drug-class", said Claus Schalper, Interim-CEO of Pieris.
- check out the press release for more