(Adds background, shares, analyst reaction)
LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Vectura Group, arespiratory drugs specialist, will work with Janssen Biotech todevelop treatments for asthma and lung disease COPD, it said onTuesday.
The collaboration will kick off with the development of adrug candidate for intermediate Phase II clinical trials, theBritish company said.
Janssen, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, will then useVectura's dry powder inhaler technologies in the development ofinhaled therapeutics for airways-related diseases such asasthma, a market worth in excess of $46 billion worldwide,Vectura said.
Shares in Vectura, which also has collaborations withcompanies including Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline, were tradingup 1.3 percent at 133 pence at 0937 GMT.
Finncap analyst Keith Redpath said Vectura would beresponsible for pharmaceutical development and preparation forthe clinical trial, and he believed it would provide bothtechnology and expertise in dry powder formulation and delivery.
He kept his 202 pence a share price target unchanged. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Mark Potter)
