Ensemble Discovery and Bristol-Myers Squibb form R&D collaboration

Ensemble Discovery, a developer of novel classes of therapeutics and bioassays, has initiated a strategic alliance with Bristol-Myers Squibb to discover and develop drug candidates of a novel class against a number of high-value pharmaceutical targets.

The collaboration will deploy Ensemble's proprietary drug discovery platforms and Ensemblin collections to discover and advance drug candidates. Bristol-Myers Squibb will have the right to develop and commercialize the products arising from the collaboration.

Bristol-Myers Squibb will provide an upfront payment of $5 million and expected research payments of $7.5 million to support the research program. Ensemble is eligible to receive development milestones of up to $29.5 million per product plus royalties based on worldwide sales of the drugs emerging from the alliance and commercialized by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

The goal of the alliance is to develop Ensemblins against up to eight pharmaceutical targets for which a strong therapeutic rationale exists but which have not previously been addressed with small molecules.

Ensemblins are a new class of oral drug molecules developed by Ensemble to address disease targets that cannot be modulated effectively by traditional small molecule pharmaceuticals.

Carl Decicco, senior vice president of discovery chemistry at Bristol-Myers Squibb, said: "Bristol-Myers Squibb is very pleased to be collaborating with Ensemble to access their novel chemistry platforms. Consistent with our company's String of Pearls strategy to integrate external innovation and expand our capabilities, this collaboration gives us the opportunity to work in the chemical space between traditional small molecules and large biologics to identify compounds that modulate biological targets of therapeutic interest."

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