LONDON (Alliance News) - UK based biotechnology company Adaptimmune Ltd confirmed Monday that it had entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC worth a potential USD350 million over the next seven years, for its cancer programme.
Under the agreement the two companies will develop and commercialise Adaptimmune's NY-ESO-1 cancer treatment, as well as Adaptimmune's other treatments using its T-cell receptor engineering technology.
Trials for the NY-ESO-1 treatment in the US are ongoing, and European trials are expected to begin shortly.
Glaxo will have an option on the NY-ESO-1 programme through clinical proof of concept, which is expected in 2016, and on exercising the option will take on full responsibility over the programme.
Additional payments could be made from Glaxo if it chooses to exercise all of its options and milestones continue to be met, Adaptimmune said, and Adaptimmune will also receive royalties ranging from single to double digit on net sales.
"We are very pleased to be working with Adaptimmune to co-develop new treatments in cancer immunotherapy, an exciting area of core strategic focus for GSK Oncology R&D," said Vice President of Oncology R&D and Head of Immuno-Oncology at Glaxo Axel Hoos in a statement.
On Sunday Glaxo announced that a late stage study of its two anti-HER2 agents lapatinib and trastuzumab did not meet their primary endpoint of improved disease free survival compared to a treatment of just trastuzumab for HER2 positive early breast cancer.
The test results were announced at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. Glaxo said that whilst it was disappointed in the results, it would continue to analyse data from the studies further, and it now had more information to help further its understanding of the disease.
Shares in Glaxo were trading down 0.4% at 1,594.50 pence Monday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
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Glaxosmithkline (GSK)