WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FORMA Therapeutics (FORMA) announced today that the Company successfully met the first objective under its strategic collaboration agreement with Celgene Corporation, triggering an undisclosed payment from Celgene. In April 2013, FORMA and Celgene entered into a collaboration to discover, develop and commercialize drug candidates to regulate protein homeostasis targets.
“Our collaboration with Celgene was structured to enable our companies to broadly and rapidly explore key pathways in the field of protein homeostasis for innovative drug development,” said Kenneth W. Bair, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Research and Development at FORMA Therapeutics. “Our rapid progress in the first five months of our collaboration with Celgene underscores our joint commitment to establishing a leadership position in the area of protein homeostasis, advancing innovative new drugs for oncology, and improving the lives of patients worldwide.”
About Protein Homeostasis
Protein homeostasis, which is important in oncology, neurodegenerative and other disorders, involves a tightly regulated network of pathways controlling the biogenesis, folding, transport and degradation of proteins. Exploring the maintenance and regulation of such competing, yet integrated, biological pathways using a chemical biology approach should directly contribute to the understanding of diseases associated with excessive protein misfolding, aggregation and degradation.
About FORMA
FORMA Therapeutics targets essential cancer pathways to create transformative small molecule cancer therapies. FORMA’s novel approach to accessing high value drug targets, many of which pose significant challenges to conventional discovery approaches, leverages the integration of its innovative drug discovery technologies and oncology expertise, enabling efficient screening, discovery and rational development of small molecule drug candidates with qualified cellular mechanisms of action. FORMA is leveraging translational and clinical development capabilities through their strategic relationship with Dr. Daniel Von Hoff and Translational Drug Development (TD2) to build a robust pipeline of transformative cancer therapies in areas such as tumor metabolism, epigenetics, protein homeostasis, and protein-protein interactions. FORMA is headquartered in Watertown, MA with additional chemistry operations in Branford, CT. www.formatherapeutics.com
