Cystic Fibrosis, Life Sciences, deals

Epix Reaches Milestone in CF Research

Ryan McBride 3/11/09

Epix Pharmaceuticals says that it is eligible for a $500,000 milestone fee from Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics—a nonprofit affiliate of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation—for completing screening for small molecule drug candidates for cystic fibrosis. Lexington, MA-based Epix (NASDAQ:EPIX) is searching for drugs to target a mutated form of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator ion channel, which is believed to play a role in the lung infections and digestive problems that can cause premature death in patients with the rare genetic disease. The firm reports that the milestone fee would bring the total milestone payments it has garnered under its agreement with the CF Foundation to $5 million.

Ryan McBride is Xconomy's correspondent. You can reach him at rmcbride@xconomy.com, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Ryan_McBride.