Petra Pharma and Schrödinger Announce Research Collaboration

NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.

About Petra Pharma Corporation

Petra Pharma is a drug development company focused on novel enzyme targets that play a central role in a variety of important cellular processes, including cell division, growth, trafficking and signaling. Petra Pharma will develop novel small molecules for the treatment of cancer and metabolic diseases to target these cellular processes to therapeutically impact human health. Petra was founded in 2016 to advance the cutting-edge research of Dr. Lewis Cantley from Weill Cornell Medical Center and Dr. Nathanael Gray from Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Petra Pharma's office and lab headquarters is located at the Alexandria Center for Life Science, New York City's first and only premier life science campus. For more information, visit www.petrapharmacorp.com.

About Schrödinger

Schrödinger is a leading provider of advanced molecular simulations and enterprise software solutions and services to accelerate and increase the efficiency of drug discovery for its clients, which include all major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide, as well as leading materials science researchers. Schrödinger also establishes deep partnerships and collaborations with companies in such fields as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and electronics, and was a cofounder of leading biotech companies including Nimbus Therapeutics, Morphic Therapeutic, and others. Schrödinger's investors include David E. Shaw and Bill Gates. Through significant long-term investments in basic research, Schrödinger has made scientific breakthroughs across many areas of drug discovery and materials science. Hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific publications by Schrödinger scientists are frequently among the most heavily cited in their fields. Founded in 1990, Schrödinger has over 300 employees and operations in the United States, Europe, Japan, and India, as well as business partners in China and Korea. For more information, please visit www.schrodinger.com.

SOURCE Schrödinger

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