Odyssey Thera, Inc announced that it has received a milestone payment from Pfizer Inc, following Pfizer's decision to progress a discovery stage drug candidate into pre-clinical development. The drug candidate was extensively studied by Odyssey Thera as part of the ongoing collaboration with Pfizer.

"We are very pleased with the progress of the collaboration with Pfizer," said John K Westwick, Ph D, Odyssey Thera's president and CEO. "Progress on this and other discovery programmes with Pfizer demonstrates the power of our unique cellular analysis platform to improve knowledge of drug mechanisms and selectivity."

In August 2006, Odyssey Thera announced its third alliance with Pfizer. Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, Odyssey Thera is collaborating on multiple Pfizer drug discovery projects, and has received upfront payments, research and capital expenditure funding, and previous success-based milestones. The achievement of this milestone is the company's first such milestone to be earned for contributing to the advancement of a drug candidate.

Odyssey Thera's patented technology measures disease-relevant pathway activity within living human cells. Rapid identification of on-target and off-pathway activities of lead compounds enables selection of drug candidates with favourable safety and selectivity profiles. Odyssey is leveraging its proprietary drug discovery and development platform for internal programs and for premier pharmaceutical company partners.