Concert Pharma in $300 million-plus deal with Celgene

Privately-held biotech firm Concert Pharmaceuticals said yesterday (May 6) that it has entered into a strategic collaboration with fellow USA-based biotech Celgene (Nasdaq: CELG) directed towards deuterium-modified compounds targeting cancer and inflammation. The collaboration will initially focus on one program, but has the potential to encompass multiple targets.

Under the terms of the accord, Concert will receive an upfront payment from Celgene and in the event Celgene decides to exercise its program options, will be eligible to receive more than $300 million in development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments for each program selected for development by Celgene. In addition, Concert will receive tiered royalties on any product sales for each of the programs advanced by Celgene.

“Celgene’s deep experience developing clinically meaningful therapies, and their global commitment to patients across multiple therapeutic areas, make them an ideal partner,” said Roger Tung, president and chief executive of Concert Pharmaceuticals, adding: “We look forward to working with Celgene to evaluate the potential benefits of deuterium-modification for a number of programs emerging in our pipeline.”