Drug firm Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Monday said it has received a payment of $5 million (over Rs 24 crore) from Sanofi-Aventis on completion of Phase I study of molecule ‘GRC 15300’ being developed for treatment of pain.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals SA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company has received from Sanofi a $5 million milestone payment related to the successful completion of the Phase I clinical study of GRC 15300, Glenmark said in a filing to BSE.

Phase I of a clinical study is done on a limited number of human subjects (around 20-100) to study efficacy and side effects of a new drug molecule.

The payment is part of a deal that the two companies had entered in May last year to grant Sanofi-Aventis a licence for the development and commercialisation of novel agents to treat chronic pain. The pact could fetch the Indian firm up to $325 million.

As part of the deal, Glenmark had received an upfront payment of $20 million and it would get development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments - which are made when a certain stage of drug development is completed.

“GRC 15300 is a first-in-class TRPV3 inhibitor for treatment of pain,” Glenmark said. The company has eight novel molecules in various stages of development and is primarily focused on the areas of inflammation and pain, it added.

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