Collaboration opens up 'whole new category of drug targets' for Almirall

Leading Spanish drugmaker Almirall (ALM: MC) will pay privately-held Netherlands-based contract research organization (CRO) Mercachem up to 6.5 million euros ($6.8 million) for exclusive rights to its cytokine blockers program to identify and develop novel small molecule therapeutics for inflammatory skin diseases.

Under the terms of the agreement, Mercachem will perform iterative optimization campaigns towards the identification of oral cytokine blockers for Almirall to further develop. Almirall will fund Mercachem’s research in this area and perform any future pre-clinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial activities.

"It gives access to groundbreaking technology that allows the identification of small molecules that can block protein-protein interactions"