Exelixis Research Collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb Extended

Exelixis, Inc. has announced that it has signed an extension of the company's research collaboration agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company to discover novel therapies targeted against the Liver X Receptor (LXR), a nuclear hormone receptor implicated in a variety of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders.

The collaboration, originally established in January of 2006 for a period of two years, was extended in 2007, at Bristol-Myers Squibb's request, through January 12, 2009. Bristol-Myers Squibb has now exercised its option to further extend the research collaboration by an additional year to January 12, 2010. Terms of this extension include additional research funding paid to Exelixis in the amount of $6.0 million.

“Exelixis and Bristol-Myers Squibb have a history of working efficiently and productively together in both oncology and cardiovascular programs,” said Michael Morrissey, Ph.D., President of Research and Development at Exelixis.

“We are particularly excited about the progress of our LXR collaboration with BMS and continue to aggressively advance new compounds with the potential to provide new treatment paradigms for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.”

“Over the last seven years we have formed no less than three partnerships with Exelixis. This extension is a reflection of our respect for the science, organization, people and productivity of Exelixis and its interactions with Bristol-Myers Squibb,” said Francis Cuss, Senior Vice President, Discovery and Exploratory Clinical Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Under the terms of the collaboration, the two companies jointly identify drug candidates that are ready for Investigational New Drug Application-enabling studies. Bristol-Myers Squibb then undertakes further preclinical development and has responsibility for clinical development, regulatory, manufacturing and sales/marketing activities for such compounds.