British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Wednesday it will pay U.S. biotechnology company Dynavax Technologies Corp. $10 million upfront in a research deal to develop drugs to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
London-based Glaxo, the world's second-largest pharmaceutical company by revenue, said that the pair planned to discover, develop and commercialize novel inhibitors of endosomal Toll-like Receptors (TLRs) for the treatment of immuno-inflammatory diseases. TLRs are key receptors of the innate immune system that can induce strong inflammatory responses.
Under the deal, Dynavax will receive an initial payment of $10 million for which Glaxo will get an exclusive option over four programs targeting autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as lupus, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Berkeley, California-based Dynavax is also eligible to receive future potential development and commercialization milestones totaling approximately $200 million per program.
Glaxo can exercise its exclusive option to license each program upon achievement of proof-of-concept or earlier upon certain circumstances.
"Our alliance with GSK provides an opportunity to create an entirely new product franchise for Dynavax," commented Dino Dina, president and chief executive officer of Dynavax. "Alliances with major pharmaceutical companies have enabled Dynavax to establish a diverse pipeline of innovative products, while contributing valuable cash for our programmes."
Copyright 2008 AP News
