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Print Edition StoriesMonday, December 8, 2008
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Just weeks after announcing a $19 million Series A funding from investors including Novartis Option Fund, Cambridge-based Ascent Therapeutics Inc. says it has entered into a licensing option agreement through the Novartis fund that has the potential to be worth more than $200 million.
Ascent is a biopharmaceutical company working on a new class of biologics targeting G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), one of the most common targets of currently approved drugs, the company said. Ascent will discover and develop drug candidates against a specific GPCR target using its Pepducin platform.
The agreement includes an unspecified upfront fee and potential milestones totaling over $200 million as well as royalties, according to Ascent officials.
On Nov. 18, Ascent announced its $19 million Series A round of funding from Novartis Option Fund, Healthcare Ventures and TVM Capital. The investment was timed with the appointment of new president and CEO Frederick Jones, as well as the naming of Stephen Hunt as senior vice president of discovery research.
Ascent’s Pepducin drug development platform was originally invented in the Tufts Medical Center laboratories. The company is focusing on drugs to treat inflammation, cancer, CNS disorders and cardiovascular disease.
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