NEW YORK, June 11-The National Institute of Standards and Technology has awarded Paradigm Genetics and Lion Bioscience an $11.7 million grant for bioinformatics research, the two companies said today.
The grant, administered under the agency's Advanced Technology Program, will support a system to improve data integration and target validation in drug development.
By the terms of the grant, the two companies must enter into a cooperative agreement with NIST.
The Advanced Technology Program is designed to support high-risk research with a potentially large commercial payoff. The grant, which will be split between the two companies, is typically awarded through a peer review process. Terms generally require companies to match their half, and Paradigm said it will match its half of the booty in in-kind research.
In an interview with GenomeWeb at the BIO 2002 meeting Toronto this morning, John Hamer, Paradigm's interim president and CEO, said that though Lion will retina marketing rights to any products developed under the collaboration, Paradigm will receive undisclosed royalties.
He added that Paradigm is currently building a "project team" to coordinate the collaboration. He said he will have a team up an running in 2-3 months.
Kirell Lakhman in Toronto contributed to this report.