Selvita, Orion collaborate to develop and commercialize SEL103 Alzheimer’s disease program

Jul 8 2010

Selvita sp. z o.o., from Krakow, Poland and Orion Corporation from Espoo, Finland (ORNBV) today announced that they have entered into a global collaboration to jointly develop and commercialize SEL103, Selvita's proprietary program for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive disorders. Selvita will be responsible for early research on the program and Orion will take over the pre-clinical and clinical development as well as further commercialization.

Under the terms of the agreement, Selvita will be responsible for the discovery and early preclinical development of small molecules and will receive upfront and research funding as well as milestone payments from Orion subject to the progress of the development program. After the selection of a lead compound, Orion will be responsible for the further steps of the program with global commercialization rights. The financial and other details of the collaboration agreement remain between the parties.

"Neurodegenerative diseases with cognitive dysfunctions are a major global disease burden. The joint program combines synergistically the capabilities of both companies providing new opportunities with a clear aim to develop improved medicines for patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders". said Dr. Jukka Sallinen, Head of CNS Research of Orion. 

„The joint program with Selvita is highly in line with our strategy of entering into early stage collaboration with partners having complementary skills to our own activities. In addition to competence, we have seen high enthusiasm and commitment to the collaboration in Selvita.  With these assets, we can look forward to a good and fruitful relationship", said Dr. Antti Haapalinna, Vice President, Research, R&D of Orion.

The companies are planning to conduct a broad-based global research and development program which will combine the resources of Orion's experienced CNS research and development team with Selvita's competencies in discovery chemistry and biology assays. In collaboration, both parties can achieve joint goals faster and with better success than by doing the work alone.

"We are excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with Orion – one of the leading pharmaceutical companies dedicated to developing and commercializing central nervous system drugs, with significant experience in conducting clinical trials in neuropsychiatric disorders which will benefit the most from our program" said Pawel Przewiezlikowski, the Chief Executive Officer of Selvita. "From the start of Selvita in 2007, our top priority has been to establish partnerships that will help us translate the vision of our scientists and academic collaborators and allow us to realize our strategy of becoming an integrated drug discovery company.

"We are delighted to see that Orion entrusts our expertise to progress into full clinical development more quickly than current industry norms," added Dr. Nicolas Beuzen, the Chief Scientific Officer of Selvita.