Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) today announced that its joint venture with Bayer’s crop protection business group, Genoptera LLC, delivered several additional novel insecticide targets for assay development and subsequent high throughput screening to Bayer. The delivery of these targets triggers undisclosed milestone payments to Exelixis.

"Since its inception in January 2000, Genoptera has been highly successful in the discovery and delivery of novel targets and assays for screening to our partner Bayer," stated George Scangos, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Exelixis, Inc. "We have every confidence that the collaboration will continue to identify targets of exceptional quality that will advance the development of safe and effective pesticides."

Genoptera LLC was formed in January 2000 to discover novel insecticides and nematicides. The joint venture is a continuation and expansion of the collaboration that Exelixis and Bayer initially established in April 1998 and expanded in June 1999. In addition to $80 million in committed research funding over the course of the eight-year joint venture, the arrangement involves a $20 million up-front payment and performance-based milestone and royalty payments from Genoptera to Exelixis. Bayer has the exclusive right to commercialize insecticides based on technology developed by Genoptera.