GSK, Angiochem in Development Pact

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Angiochem have entered a global collaboration to discover, develop and commercialize treatments for lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs). The collaboration will leverage Angiochem’s expertise in creating novel therapeutics that cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) with GSK’s scientific, development and commercialization capabilities in rare diseases.
 
Angiochem will initially create and develop an enzyme replacement therapy for a specified LSD and GSK will have the right to assume responsibility for development and commercialization of the resulting drug candidate. Angiochem is eligible to receive as much as $300 million, including as much as $31.5 million upfront for research funding, as well as royalties on future sales of EPiC-enzymes that arise from the collaboration. The agreement allows for expansion of the collaboration to include additional disease targets.
 
“Our collaboration with GSK reflects our belief in the need to effectively address neurological symptoms of lysosomal storage diseases. We are pleased to collaborate with GSK, a committed leader in this rare disease area,” said Jean-Paul Castaigne, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Angiochem. “This collaboration will further validate the wide-ranging potential for our BBB platform across multiple therapeutic areas and classes of compounds while providing Angiochem with additional resources to advance our own internal pipeline including other EPiC-enzymes.”