Pharma company and Pfizer sign nitric oxide-donating compounds license agreement.

2004 SEP 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NicOx S.A. (Nouveau Marche:NICOX) announced that it has signed a research, option, development and licensing agreement with Pfizer Inc. related to selected proprietary NicOx nitric oxide-donating compounds.

Under the agreement, NicOx grants Pfizer an option to acquire an exclusive worldwide license covering early-stage nitric oxide-donating compounds in an undisclosed field. NicOx will receive a EUR 1 million in upfront payment and a further EUR 1 million payment after 6 months, with an additional EUR 35 million in milestone payments if the collaboration results in the successful commercial development of a product. NicOx will receive royalties in line with industry standards on sales of any successful product resulting from the research collaboration.

During the first phase of the collaboration, Pfizer and NicOx will be jointly responsible for research programs under the supervision of a joint steering committee. NicOx will synthesize nitric oxide-donating compounds to be evaluated in a series of preclinical screening and characterization tests. Upon successful completion of the first phase of the collaboration, Pfizer will be responsible for funding the further development and future global commercialization of selected lead compounds.

Michele Garufi, chairman and CEO of NicOx, commented: "This agreement with Pfizer is a significant endorsement of our nitric oxide-donating technology and confirms NicOx's ...