GlaxoSmithKline sells Solabegron rights to AltheRx

GlaxoSmithKline has sold off all assets for a new treatment for overactive bladder and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to the clinical development company AltheRx.

The privately-held firm has purchased the rights to the GlaxoSmithKline drug Solabegron after it demonstrated efficacy and a favourable tolerability profile in a number of phase II studies.

Solabegron is a selective and potent beta3-adrenoceptor agonist that is able to relax smooth muscles in the bladder, reducing incontinence episodes and delivering pain relief among IBS sufferers.

Shawn O'Brien, chief executive officer of AltheRx, expressed confidence that the new drug holds the potential to meet the needs of patients affected by these conditions.

Eliot Ohlstein, the company's chief scientific officer and former senior vice-president of the urology and cardiovascular centre of excellence for drug discovery at GlaxoSmithKline, added that phase III trials of Solabegron will begin later this year.

Earlier this month, GlaxoSmithKline published clinical trial data for its new Parkinson's disease drug IPX066, which demonstrated its effectiveness.