Zalicus And Hydra Collaborate To Advance Novel Ion Channel Product Candidates For The Treatment Of Pain

Zalicus Inc. (NASDAQ: ZLCS) a biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops novel treatments for patients suffering from pain and immuno-inflammatory diseases and Hydra Biosciences, Inc., a leader in the discovery and development of novel ion channels, today announced that they have entered into a collaboration to advance development of Zalicus’ preclinical ion channel modulator product candidates for the treatment of pain.

This collaboration brings together the Zalicus portfolio of novel, preclinical ion channel product candidates, representing multiple calcium and sodium channel modulators, with Hydra’s expertise in ion channel discovery and preclinical drug development. The goal of the collaboration is to advance ion channel drug candidates into clinical development for the treatment of pain.

Under the terms of the agreement, Zalicus will pay Hydra an upfront payment and fund research and development activities at Hydra for a two-year period. During this time, Hydra will perform the preclinical development activities necessary to advance Zalicus’ preclinical ion channel product candidates toward clinical development. Zalicus’ clinical-stage novel ion channel modulators currently in Phase 1 clinical development for pain, including Z-160, an N-type calcium channel blocker and Z944, a novel T-type calcium channel blocker, are not included in this collaboration. In addition, Zalicus will retain all intellectual property and commercial rights to its product candidates.

"We are excited to collaborate with Hydra, a recognized leader in ion channel research and development,” said Mark H.N. Corrigan, MD, CEO of Zalicus. “Our ion channel discovery research team has been extremely productive in generating a number of ion channel modulators and the time is right to advance those programs into preclinical development with the goal of selecting the best candidates to move into clinical development. Our two clinical-stage ion channel product candidates, Z160 and Z944, originated from our previous discovery efforts and are currently progressing through Phase 1 clinical testing."