Glaxo signs $2.1 bln deal for Genmab lead drug
Tue Dec 19, 2006 2:45am ET
LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L: Quote, Profile , Research) has bought global rights to Danish biotech company Genmab's (GEN.CO: Quote, Profile , Research) most promising new drug, a treatment for leukaemia, in a deal worth up to $2.1 billion, the two firms said on Tuesday.
The deal covers HuMax-CD20, an experimental antibody medicine in late-stage development for CD20 positive B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL) and follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
The drug, which is also in Phase II trials for rheumatoid arthritis, is similar to MabThera/Rituxan from Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile , Research) (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile , Research) and Genentech Inc. (DNA.N: Quote, Profile , Research) (DNA.N: Quote, Profile , Research).
Genmab's Chief Executive Lisa Drakeman told Reuters earlier this year she believed HuMax-CD20 could generate more than $2 billion in annual sales.
The Danish group had been expected to strike a deal for the product by the middle of 2007.
Under the agreement with Glaxo it will receive a licence fee of 582 million Danish crowns ($102 million) and Glaxo will invest approximately $357 million to buy shares in Genmab.
It is also entitled to milestone payments of up to $1.6 billion, based on the drug's successful development and commercialisation. |
