CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Following an alliance with Bayer, Millennium Pharmaceuticals said it has reached over $1 billion in potential pharmaceutical partnership funding. As a result, assuming the Millennium-Bayer alliance receives US Federal Trade Commission approval by year-end as anticipated, the company expects to be profitable for 1998, close the year with over $160 million in cash on-hand, and be poised to leverage its strengthened financial position to expand its drug discovery and development capabilities.
Millennium and Bayer announced that the primary goal of their alliance is for Millennium to supply 225 important new drug targets related to cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis, pain, liver fibrosis, hematology, and viral infections. Over the five-year term of the alliance, Bayer will provide up to $465 million in total funding to Millennium, including an up-front equity investment and license fee of $130 million, and an additional $335 million in a combination of license fees, annual research funding, and performance fees.