GSK, Galapagos team up on anti-infectives

LONDON In a recent move of acquisitions, GlaxoSmithKline has reached an agreement with Galapagos to discover and develop new anti-infective medicines against up to six targets based on Galapagos’ natural product drug delivery platform, according to Reuters.

Galapagos will receive about $5 million in technology access fees and up to $315 million in total payments for each marketed product. The company will also be responsible for the discovery and development of natural product small molecule drug candidates in clinical trials. After this, GSK will have the option to license each compound for further development and commercialization on a worldwide basis.

The move reflects GSK’s decision to place more emphasis on developing new antibiotics and anti-virals, after announcing in February it was setting up a new drug-discovery unit devoted to infectious diseases.

Some of the recent deals by GSK are: an agreement with OncoMed for the development of novel antibodies believed to be involved with the spread and recurrence of cancer; an agreement with Synta Pharmaceuticals for the rights to its experimental skin cancer drug; a multi-billion brain drug deal with Targacept; and a deal to buy heart drug specialist Reliant Pharmaceuticals for $1.65 billion.