Tranzyme And BMS Sign Discovery Deal

Tranzyme Pharma will work to discover macrocyclic compounds directed against targets that are of interest to Bristol-Myers Squibb. BMS will pay $10 million up front and between $3 million and $6 million in R&D funding for two years. BMS will be primarily responsible for optimizing any lead compounds, as well as for further development. Tranzyme could receive milestone payments of up to $80 million for each target program. Tranzyme uses macrocyclic template chemistry to find novel bioactive macrocycles that have the potency and selectivity of biomolecules but the low production costs and high oral availability of small-molecule drugs.