Shire PLC has exercised its exclusive option to license a novel adenosine A2A antagonist discovered by Heptares Therapeutics. Adenosine A2A is a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) in preclinical development for the treatment of CNS disorders.

Heptares will receive an upfront option grant and exercise payments and is eligible to receive future development and commercial milestone payments of as much as $190 million, plus royalties on sales. Further terms were not disclosed.

Jeff Jonas, senior vice president, R&D, Specialty Pharmaceuticals and Regenerative Medicine at Shire, said, “Shire is continuously in search of innovations that have the potential to help us develop well differentiated medicines that will bring value to patients. This agreement with Heptares is a reflection of our growth strategy of investing and focusing on highly targeted drug discovery platforms. We look forward to a fruitful partnership with Heptares and to advancing the program for the benefit of patients suffering from CNS disorders.”

“The exercise of this option and initiation of the worldwide licensing agreement with Shire, one of the world’s leading CNS specialty pharmaceutical companies, is an outstanding achievement for Heptares,” said Malcolm Weir, chief executive officer of Heptares. “The A2A program is the most advanced example of the Heptares drug discovery platform, and highlights our ability to deliver fundamentally novel chemotypes as a basis for first-in-class and best-in-class medicines addressing a broad range of diseases.”