GSK announces alliance with Cellzome

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Cellzone have announced a major strategic alliance to discover, develop and market innovative kinase-targeted drugs to treat inflammatory conditions.

Under the terms of the deal, GSK will gain access to the proprietary Kinobeads technology from Cellzome, in addition to its expertise in identifying and developing selective kinase inhibitors.

GSK will pay Cellzome an upfront sum of 14.4 million pounds in cash and equity, with the company being eligible for further payments of up to 118 million per programme in potential development regulatory and marketing milestones.

Cellzome will also be entitled to double-digit royalties in product sales from the partnership.

The Kinobeads technology screens compounds in a physiological setting to enhance the predictability of how these drugs will perform in a clinical testing.

Jose Carlos Gutierrez-Ramos, senior vice-president and head of the Immuno-Inflammation Centre of Excellence for Drug Discovery at GSK, said: “GSK is committed to becoming a world leader in immuno-inflammation drug discovery by finding transformative medicines through internal efforts and external collaborations.”

He added that the company is excited to be working Cellzome to discover and develop improved approaches to existing treatments which cannot access intracellular signaling mechanisms.

Earlier this week, GSK announced the resignation of Chris Viehbacher as executive director of the board and president of North American pharmaceuticals at the company.