Dyax Announces Second Peptide Discovery Collaboration with EPIX Pharmaceuticals

23-Nov-2004

Dyax Corp. announced a collaboration with Epix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for the discovery and development of peptides to be used as imaging agents and/or therapeutics. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will conduct a research program utilizing Dyax's proprietary phage display technology to identify and characterize peptides that bind specifically to an undisclosed EPIX target. This agreement represents the companies' second peptide discovery collaboration to date. Under the initial collaboration, EPIX recently advanced a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) agent, which incorporates a Dyax identified peptide, into Phase I clinical development for its potential to improve the detection of arterial and venous blood clots.

Per the second agreement announced, EPIX may develop and commercialize therapeutic products, in addition to diagnostic products, based on the peptides that Dyax identifies. EPIX will fund Dyax to perform its portion of the research program and will owe development milestone payments to Dyax, as well as royalty payments for a specified period of time upon successful commercialization by EPIX of products based on peptides identified by Dyax.

"We're very pleased to enter into this second collaboration with EPIX. We've established an excellent and productive working relationship that I expect will continue to build and grow. As this agreement with EPIX indicates, our state-of-the-art technology is not limited to the area of antibody discovery, but extends to peptides and small proteins as well - areas that I believe are still relatively untapped as sources of powerful biopharmaceutical products," commented Henry E. Blair, Chairman, President and CEO of Dyax Corp.

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