Merck Serono and Domain Therapeutics have entered into a development and licensing agreement to develop positive allosteric modulators of metabotropic glutamate receptor 4 to treat for Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.
Domain Therapeutics will provide optimised compounds that have been developed from their proprietary chemical series.
Under the agreement, Domain Therapeutics will receive 2m in upfront payment and research funding, and is eligible to receive up to 132m in milestones for the first two products, including undisclosed royalties.
Metabotropic glutamate receptor 4 is considered to be a potential therapeutic target for Parkinson's disease. Allosteric modulation of these receptors is believed to exert regulatory activity on glutamate-mediated neurotransmission.
SOURCE:Pharmaceutical-technology 