GenVec, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, has achieved the third milestone in its collaboration with Novartis for the development of treatments for hearing and balance disorders. In January 2014, Novartis filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the clinical development of CGF166, the lead product candidate under the collaboration. The IND was deemed effective on February 7, 2014 and this triggered a $2 million milestone payment to GenVec under the terms of the collaboration.

"Hearing loss and balance disorders negatively impact the lives of millions of people worldwide, and CGF166 represents a novel approach to bringing relief to this population," said Douglas E Brough, Ph.D., GenVec's chief scientific officer. "We look forward to studying this product candidate in the clinic and finding out more about its potential."

"We are very excited that our novel regenerative approach to addressing the leading cause of hearing loss will soon be in clinical testing," said Douglas J Swirsky, GenVec's president and CEO. "The next milestone payment available to GenVec under our Novartis collaboration will be triggered by the first patient visit in the planned phase I clinical trial of CGF166."

In January 2010, GenVec entered into a worldwide licensing and collaboration agreement with Novartis to discover and develop novel treatments for hearing loss and balance disorders. Under the terms of the agreement, if certain clinical, regulatory, and sales milestones are met, GenVec is eligible to receive up to $213.6 million, including upfront and milestone payments, in addition to royalties on future sales.

GenVec is a biopharmaceutical company working with leading companies and organizations such as Novartis and the US Government to leverage its proprietary gene-delivery technologies to address the prevention and treatment of significant health concerns.