COLUMBIA, Md.--Gene Logic here has announced that it will collaborate with Japan Tobacco to uncover drug targets and leads in kidney disease. Gene Logic will utilize its proprietary Accelerated Drug Discovery platform in the effort. Japan Tobacco will also be the first subscriber to Gene Logic's Gene Express Normal database of quantitative gene expression profiles in a variety of normal tissues of human, rat, and mouse origin. The deal also gives Japan Tobacco the option of accessing Gene Logic's Flow-thru Gene Chip technology for high-throughput screening.
Terms of the deal allow Japan Tobacco to expand the collaboration to other disease areas at any time during the first two years. The company will gain worldwide rights to all small-molecule drugs and therapeutic antibodies and proteins developed under the collaboration. Gene Logic will receive royalties on the sales of any such products, and retains the rights to gene therapy, antisense, and diagnostic products. The agreement also provides that Gene Logic will receive a minimum of $3 million a year from its partner over the predicted five-year life of the collaboration.