Wyeth and Catalyst Biosciences, Inc. have formed an exclusive worldwide collaboration for the discovery, development and commercialization of Factor VIIa products to treat hemophilia and other bleeding conditions. Total payments under the collaboration could exceed $500 million and include an upfront payment of $21 million, research funding and milestone payments.

Wyeth will fund the discovery, research and preclinical development by Catalyst of Factor VIIa products, including Catalyst's CB 813 for the treatment and prophylaxis of acute bleeding in patients with hemophilia. The term of the research agreement is two years, which Wyeth may extend for as many as three additional years. Wyeth will be responsible for the development, manufacturing and worldwide commercialization of products resulting from the collaboration. Wyeth will also have the right of first negotiation for any additional clotting factors discovered by Catalyst.

Catalyst may earn as much as $40 million during the next two years, including the upfront payment, research funding and preclinical and clinical milestone payments. Catalyst will be eligible to receive development and commercialization milestones, plus royalties on sales of products resulting from the collaboration.

"This collaboration serves as an excellent fit with our recombinant Factor VIII and Factor IX hemophilia products and provides us with an opportunity to expand Wyeth's hemophilia franchise," said Mikael Dolsten, president, Wyeth Research. "We have been impressed by the caliber of Catalyst's therapeutic protein engineering skills used in the Factor VIIa program and the lead candidate CB 813. We look forward to a highly productive collaboration."

"We are thrilled to join forces with Wyeth, a biopharmaceutical company at the forefront of both hemophilia treatment and the development and commercialization of biologic therapies," said Nassim Usman, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Catalyst Biosciences. "This collaboration highlights the value Catalyst has created in our Factor VIIa portfolio of products. Revenues generated from research collaborations such as this one allow us to continually expand and support existing discovery efforts around bleeding disorder product candidates and the engineering of new Alterase therapeutic products."

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