Petra Pharma and Schrödinger Announce Research Collaboration

Petra Pharma, a drug development company focused on novel enzyme targets, and Schrödinger, Inc., a privately-held company dedicated to revolutionizing drug discovery through advanced computational methods, today announced a multi-target research collaboration to develop novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and metabolic diseases.

Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will work together to leverage Petra's pipeline of unique enzyme targets and Schrödinger's computational drug discovery platform in the design of novel small molecules for the treatment of cancer and metabolic diseases. Schrödinger will receive preclinical, clinical and commercial-stage milestone payments, as well as equity in Petra. Additional details and financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.

"Collaborating with Schrödinger gives us access to cutting-edge computational tools for drug design," said Brian O'Callaghan, President and Chief Executive Officer at Petra Pharma. "Combined with our expertise in novel enzyme targets, we look forward to leveraging this partnership to design and develop new treatment options for people with limited treatment options who suffer from cancer and metabolic diseases."

"We are looking forward to working with Petra's highly talented team to accelerate the discovery of novel therapies." said Ramy Farid, Schrödinger's President and CEO. "This partnership highlights the versatility of our computational drug discovery platform, which will support and enable Petra's efforts to design innovative new drugs that may have an important impact on the lives of patients."

Petra Pharma is backed by a group of investors including AbbVie, Alexandria Venture Investments, ARCH Venture Partners, Eli Lilly and Company, 180 Degree Capital Corp., Empire State Development's Innovate NY Fund, Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc., Partnership Fund for New York City, Pfizer Venture Investments, Watson Fund and WuXi PharmaTech.