Glaxo, Sirna in Drug Development Pact
Monday April 3, 8:23 am ET
GlaxoSmithKline, Sirna Therapeutics Agree to Develop Respiratory Disease Treatments
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC and biotech company Sirna Therapeutics Inc. said Monday they will form a strategic alliance to develop gene-based treatments for respiratory diseases.
Sirna shares jumped $1.16, or 17.2 percent, to $7.90 in premarket activity, above the stock's 52-week high of $7.62 from March. The multiyear agreement may result in milestone payments of more than $700 million to Sirna.
GlaxoSmithKline will pay $12 million to Sirna upfront, consisting of cash and Sirna stock purchases at $8.36 per share -- for rights to develop RNA interference targets into treatments for such conditions as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
GlaxoSmithKline will assume responsibility for preclinical and clinical development as well as commercialization of the targets that Sirna supplies. Sirna would receive royalties on worldwide sales of any resulting products, and would also be eligible for contract manufacturing revenue.
In a separate statement, Sirna said it received its first U.S. patent for an RNA interference target instrumental in such diseases as asthma, arthritis, cancer, chronic inflammation, as well as in neurodegenerative diseases and heart disease.
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