Amphora Discovery Corporation recently announced it has entered into a multi-year research partnership with Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. to discover and develop new treatments for inflammatory disease; an important therapeutic area that includes cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis.

Under terms of the agreement, Ortho-McNeil will license several lead series of compounds identified by Amphora that are focused on a widely recognized inflammation target for which a successful therapy has not yet been identified. Amphora will grant Ortho-McNeil exclusive rights to the existing compounds as well as new compounds discovered during the collaboration, and Ortho-McNeil’s affiliate Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C., will further develop the licensed compounds and provide research support to Amphora. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but include research support payments, an up-front licensing fee and the possibility of milestone payments and royalties for compounds developed under the collaboration.