Forest and TransTech Enter into License Agreement

Forest Laboratories and TransTech Pharma announce that they have entered into a license agreement for the development and commercialisation of small molecule compounds discovered and developed by TransTech.

These compounds are functionally liver-selective Glucokinase Activators (GKAs), which represent a novel class of glucose-lowering agents for the treatment of diabetes.

Forest will provide TransTech an upfront license payment of US$50 million. TransTech can receive up to US$1.105 billion in upfront and milestone payments for the successful development and commercialisation of the GKA compounds. Forest will also pay TransTech royalties on worldwide product sales and will be responsible for development and commercialisation costs.

TransTech retains the rights to Middle East and North Africa, while Forest receives exclusive rights to the rest of the worldwide market. The portfolio licensed by Forest consists of a lead compound, TTP399, which has completed Phase I studies and other compounds in Phase I and pre-clinical stages of development.

Adnan M M Mjalli PhD, Founder, Chairman and CEO of TransTech said, "We believe this novel class of compounds has the potential to be a major therapeutic advance in the treatment of diabetes. Our GKAs are specifically selected to improve glycemic control without exerting pressure on the pancreas to produce insulin. We are encouraged by early data suggesting potential additional decreases in serum lipids which tend to be elevated in diabetic patients."