Targacept has received a hefty $200 million milestone payment from AstraZeneca. The money is part of a deal signed in December that could be worth up to $1.2 billion.
Targacept is developing TC-5214, a drug for major depressive disorder (MDD), which is headed into Phase III trials this year. The milestone payment was triggered by the early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. Targacept and AstraZeneca hope to file an NDA for TC-5214 as a second-line therapy for MDD in 2012, with an NDA for the drug as a monotherapy to follow. The companies have an extensive partnership and are already working together on two other programs.
- check out Targacept's release