Ireland-based Elan is investing up to $50m in Proteostasis Therapeutics, a US-based company treating brain problems, in return for a 24% stake.
Elan will invest $20m initially for its shares with a further $30m available as collaboration funding over the next five years.
As well as its equity stake, Elan will have a seat on Proteostasis’ board of directors and scientific advisory board, and the first right to exclusively license new drug compounds from the collaboration.
Peter Reinhart, president and chief scientific officer (CSO) of Proteostasis, said: "Elan’s proprietary disease models and development expertise will enable us to accelerate our programs, each of which has the potential for developing therapeutics to treat multiple neurodegenerative diseases."
Dale Schenk, Elan’s CSO, and Ted Yednock, head of research for Elan, added: "Through an emphasis on protein folding and turnover, the Proteostasis business relationship is both complementary and additive to our internal research effort which is focused on genetic targets associated with a broad array of neurodegenerative disorders. This initiative enables us to simultaneously expand possible targets and accelerate our progress in bringing science to patients, as we believe that this area is central for further scientific and clinical advancements."
In September 2008, Proteostasis raised $45m in its series A round from corporate venturing units Novartis Venture Fund, Genzyme Ventures and Fidelity Biosciences, as well as venture capital firms HealthCare Ventures and New Enterprise Associates,