ATLANTA (AP) – Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has agreed to pay for an additional year of research by NeurOp Inc. into a potential treatment for major depression and neuropathic pain.

A brief statement Wednesday from NeurOp, a privately held Atlanta company, did not detail the funding.

Bristol-Myers, based in New York, originally agreed in December 2009 to fund a two-year research collaboration. NeuroOp said Wednesday that they were extending the deal through December 2012, with an option for another extension.

Bristol-Myers paid NeurOp a $1.5 million licensing fee under the original deal, and NeurOp said it could receive up to $74 million in milestone payments and royalties.

NeurOp CEO Barney Koszalka said in the statement that the extension allows his company to continue driving the research program toward human clinical studies.

NeurOp focuses on developing treatments for central nervous system disorders that also include schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease.

Date: December 14, 2011
Source: Associated Press