Forma Therapeutics has formed an exclusive alliance with Janssen Biotech (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson), in which the pair will collaborate on discovery, development and commercialization of novel small molecule drug candidates that target tumor metabolism mechanisms.

"This collaboration will enable a broad chemical biology approach to understanding the unique biology underlying cancer metabolism,” said Kenneth Bair, Ph.D., senior vice president and head of R&D at Forma.

 Forma will discover and develop drugs against a panel of tumor metabolism targets, with the possibility of $700 million in milestone payments from Janssen. Both companies are allowed to expand the collaboration to include additional targets, even in areas beyond tumor metabolism.

Forma will also be eligible for royalties on revenues from commercialized products as a result of the collaboration, and it will have the opportunity to co-develop and maintain North American commercial rights to one program of Janssen’s choosing.

“This collaboration with Janssen Biotech further strengthens our drug discovery capabilities and also allows us to look to the future with an opportunity to maintain North American rights, which is a key element of our strategy to create long-term shareholder value within Forma," said Steven Tregay, Ph.D., CEO of Forma.