Bristol-Myers Squibb buys rights to depression drug compounds from NeurOp for a potential $75.5 million

Atlanta, USA-based preclinical stage drug developer NeurOp Chas entered into a collaboration with drug major Bristol-Myers Squibb focused upon the development of NeurOp's proprietary small molecules for use in the treatment of major depression and other central nervous system disorders.

Under the terms of the agreement, B-MS has agreed to pay privately-held NeurOp an upfront fee of $1.5 million and to fund a two-year research collaboration. In addition, NeurOp is eligible to receive up to $74 million in potential milestone payments for the successful development of a compound in major depression and royalties on worldwide sales of commercialized compounds. The compound class to be developed comprises NR2B subunit-specific N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists.

"We are excited about the research agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb because of their commitment to neuroscience drug development," said Barney Koszalka, president and chief executive of NeurOp. "We believe they are the ideal collaborator to help develop the potential of our NR2B program in depression. This alliance validates the pioneering work of NeurOp's scientific founders, Dr Raymond Dingledine and Dr Stephen Traynelis of Emory University and Dr James McNamara of Duke University," he added.