Gene Logic Inc. has entered into a drug repositioning and development agreement with Roche to seek alternative development paths for multiple Roche drug candidates. All of these drug candidates have successfully passed phase I human clinical trials, and were discontinued in phase II or phase III clinical trials.

Similar to development-stage in-licensing deals, the agreement provides for Gene Logic to receive success-based milestone payments for each drug candidate Roche returns to clinical development. In addition, Gene Logic will receive royalties for each marketed drug. The agreement also provides Gene Logic the option to receive an exclusive license to any drug candidate that Roche chooses not to pursue, in which case Roche will receive success-based milestone and royalty payments, states a company release.

Gene Logic's Drug Repositioning Programme seeks to find alternative development paths for drug candidates with good safety records that have been de-prioritised or discontinued in phase II or phase III clinical trials. The programme offers pharmaceutical partners a novel approach to bolster their late-stage pipelines with safe, high-quality drug candidates that originated from their own R&D efforts. In cases where the partner decides not to pursue development of a successfully repositioned compound, Gene Logic may have an option to develop or out-license the given drug candidate.

Applying a unique, diverse set of drug discovery technologies in parallel, Gene Logic's Drug Repositioning Programme evaluates drug candidates for potential utility across a wide spectrum of disease indications. This platform represents the integration of technologies acquired from Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 2004 with Gene Logic's premiere capabilities in genomics and in silico biology. Gene Logic can complete initial repositioning testing and analysis in less than a year, potentially returning drug candidates expediently to clinical testing.

Jonathan Knowles, president of global research at Roche said, "We see Gene Logic's programme as an interesting and innovative option for Roche in our effort to continually enhance our clinical pipeline. We believe Gene Logic's novel approach to quickly and systematically identify new indications for drugs will help us to create potential break-through medicines for the benefit of patients worldwide."

Louis Tartaglia, general manager and senior vice president of drug repositioning for Gene Logic, said, "We are extremely pleased that Gene Logic has been selected to complement Roche's ongoing drug development efforts. Roche's drug candidates will be put through a diverse battery of technologies specifically designed to find new indications and alternative development paths. The programme is designed to provide a comprehensive picture of the drug candidates' biological activities and determine if there are new therapeutic uses for these potential medicines."