Operator
At this time if you would like to ask a question, simply press * and then number 1 on your telephone keypad. We will pause for just a moment to compile the Q&A roster. Our first question comes from the line of Charles Dunken with Piper Jeffery. Please go ahead.
Charles Duncan with Piper Jaffray,
Good morning Charles, Good morning Robert, first of all happy new year and secondly congratulations on expansion of this deal.
Robert Blum, President and Chief Executive Officer
Thank you very much.
Charles Duncan with Piper Jaffray,
Robert, I have a couple of questions. I am wondering if you could provide any additional color on some of the observations that resulted in Astellas interest in extending into SMA with this candidate.
Robert Blum, President and Chief Executive Officer
Sure, I will start and then also ask Fady to add some commentary. From the beginning even when we negotiated the original deal in 2013. The companies had discussions about the neuromuscular field and it was very much with our eye on both this opportunity but also that which is still independent. Our development of TIRASEMTIV that prompted Cytokinetics to exclude the neuromuscular indications from that original deal but our two companies have continued to dialog about possibilities under which we could include neuromuscular indications. It was about a year ago that those conversations really dialed up in earnest and through the course of 2014, we engaged together in discussions. We performed a series of market research activities and other vetting. We looked at both neuromuscular and non-neuromuscular indications. Importantly in concert with each companies, independent interest in this area and we worked out a deal that was satisfactory to both companies.
It was especially important to Cytokinetics that we would be in a position to advance this field CK107 in neuromuscular indications but not at the expense of the worked that we are doing independently with Tirasemtiv. So, Once we were able to work out those arrangements and know that we could have an agreed development plan. That was something that we were able to put to business development and legal teams in order to be able to negotiate final contract. It really came about through initial research and development momentum but then carried forward as we thought about our corporate development interest and this deal enables the inflow of capital for Cytokinetics which affords us the opportunity now to advance Tirasemtiv in ALS. Potentially to occur here in this year 2015 while also still ensuring that CK107 could go forward in other indications.
Fady I. Malik, SVP, Research and Development
Well Charles, I will just add a couple of comments, I think as you know that this mechanism of action has always been, we thought quite applicable on the neuromuscular disease area. I know Astellas has also realized that even from the very initial time that the deal was negotiated. We have done trials in ALS and Miacenia Gravis and I would say the development landscape in SMA has changed quite a bit over, between the time that we initially negotiated this deal and today increasing the amount of experience in developing in that clinical indication. It is one of the rationales that we are going in to ALS. There is a lot of clinical experience in developing in that indication. So, SMA, I think represented a natural area to consider developing next in to the phase 1 of the clinical data. Where really encouraging and in particular the pharmaceutical dynamic data that we obtained with CK107 and together I think that the interest in perusing SMA helped to expand the deal as we finish last year.
Robert Blum, President and Chief Executive Officer
Maybe just one other thing to add to that under Fady’s supervision, we performed some clinical research relating to skeletal muscle activators that was dating back a couple of years in the area of SMA that was funded by an entity called Families of SMA now called Cure SMA. That foundation provided some grand funding around which we did some impressive pre-clinical research published in recent years that also provided I think a catalyst for our interest to pursue this in phase 2.
