(Alliance News) - GlaxoSmithKline PLC on Monday said it has licensed a tuberculosis vaccine candidate to the medical research arm of a foundation co-chaired by Microsoft Corp founder Bill Gates.
The FTSE 100-listed pharmaceutical firm said the deal with the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute would aid the "continued development" of the M72/AS01E vaccine, which aims to fight pulmonary tuberculosis.
The bacterial lung infection killed 1.5 million in 2018, GSK said.
The company added: "The licensing agreement is a significant step forward to continue the development of the vaccine candidate for low-income countries with high tuberculosis burdens."
There is no approved vaccine to fight pulmonary tuberculosis, GSK noted.
Chief Medical Officer Thomas Breuer said: "We are very proud to have developed a TB vaccine candidate which has shown promising clinical trial results in adolescents and adults where the need to combat the TB epidemic is greatest. We are delighted to announce this ambitious collaboration to enable key partners to further build on and progress our scientific innovation."
Shares in the company were 2.3% lower at 1,781.00 pence each in London on Monday afternoon.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Glaxosmithkline (GSK)