Orion signs up for CNS research accord with Gedeon Richter

Finland-based drugmaker Orion Corp (Nasdaq OMX Helsinki: ORNAV) has have entered into a comprehensive and long term collaboration agreement with Gedeon Richter (RICHT: HB), Hungary’s largest pharmaceutical company, for the discovery and development of new chemical entities in the field of cognitive disorders.

According to the terms of the accord, the partnership provides an opportunity whereby the two companies jointly select and bring forward three discovery phase candidates and share all the development related expenses on an equal base. The territory related marketing rights have not been determined yet.

Reijo Salonen, senior vice president of R&D at Orion, commented: “Alzheimer’s disease and other neuropsychiatric conditions with cognition deficit are devastating illnesses, and at Orion, we are deeply motivated to develop new therapies for these patients. A fundamental pillar of our R&D model is to seek collaborations that leverage the strengths of both organizations, and at Richter we have found scientific skills and an organizational culture that will likely result in a successful partnership. This collaboration increases probability to succeed in this challenging therapeutic area.”