Orexo AB , the Swedish pharmaceutical company and Boehringer Ingelheim, the international pharmaceutical company headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, have extended their existing three year research collaboration for a further 12 months from November 2008.

The research collaboration is a part of an exclusive world-wide license to develop and market a new class of drugs with a novel mechanism of action for the treatment of pain and inflammation.

This acts as an extension to the original agreement between the two companies dating from 2005; the deal has a total potential value of MEUR 250 in milestones to Orexo excluding royalties.

The collaboration is focused on the development of a drug which specifically inhibits the enzyme prostaglandin (PG) E synthase (mPGES) to reduce the production of PGE2, an endogenous substance that is central to various inflammatory processes.

Under the terms of the agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim will continue research funding to Orexo in the OX-MPI project. Boehringer Ingelheim holds exclusive rights to all further compound development and marketing, except in the Nordic and Baltic regions, where Boehringer Ingelheim and Orexo will co-promote potential products developed.
Thanks to its selective inhibition, the drug could have fewer side effects than existing pain medications, such as the NSAIDs.

Dr Torbjörn Bjerke, President and Chief Executive of Orexo, said: "We are delighted to extend the excellent collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim, a global player with expertise in the inflammatory pain area and a very committed partner. The medical need in the area of pain and inflammation is considerable and this collaboration has the potential to answer the patients´ and physicians´ need for a new treatment that is both safe and efficacious."