Irvine drug maker Allergan Inc. said Tuesday it extended a pact with France’s ExonHit Therapeutics SA to work on treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Terms of the pact with the French biotechnology company weren’t disclosed. ExonHit said it received a payment upon signing the renewed deal. Milestone and royalty payments were increased to fuel research and development funding, the company said.
The deal is the second renewal of a development pact between the two companies since 2003, according to ExonHit. The current agreement runs through 2009.
Allergan and ExonHit have worked together on developing drugs that fight pain and eye diseases and amyothropic lateral sclerosis, which affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
ExonHit, which is publicly traded in Europe, got its start in 1997. The company splices genes in a bid to develop drugs.
One of ExonHit’s compounds is in trials as a possible treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and dementia.
