Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth and Ambrx Inc announced the formation of a worldwide alliance to discover, develop, and commercialize protein drug candidates for three undisclosed targets in multiple therapeutic areas. The alliance will capitalize on Ambrx's recent breakthroughs in applying its protein medicinal chemistry platform to proteins produced in mammalian cells such as antibodies and antibody-toxin conjugates.

Ambrx anticipates earning near term payments from an upfront commitment, target loading fees and research funding. In addition, Ambrx will be eligible to receive escalating preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments as well as tiered royalties on sales of products resulting from the collaboration.

"This collaboration with Ambrx reinforces Wyeth's commitment to sustaining and growing our already robust capabilities in the field of biologics drug discovery through partnerships with biotech innovators," said Mikael Dolsten, president, Wyeth Research. "We are enthusiastic about working with Ambrx, a company with the ability to create and advance precisely engineered biologic drug candidates into clinical trials using its proprietary platform."

Stephen Kaldor, president and CEO of Ambrx, said, "Wyeth is a long-standing leader in protein therapeutics with a strong record of successfully developing innovative products. We are pleased that Wyeth recognizes the power of the Ambrx EuCODE platform and look forward to collaborating with Wyeth's talented personnel to produce the next generation of biologic drugs."

Ambrx is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with a broad biologics platform that allows it to create best-in-class therapeutics, including improved versions of native proteins and therapeutic antibodies.