GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and ChemoCentryx Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced a worldwide multi-target strategic alliance to discover, develop and market novel medicines targeting four chemokine and chemoattractant receptors for the treatment of a variety of inflammatory disorders, including Traficet-EN in late stage development for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
This collaboration provides GSK access to selected targets from one of the broadest pipelines of chemokine-based therapeutics in the biopharmaceutical industry leveraging ChemoCentryx's expertise and pioneering insight into the chemokine system. The alliance with GSK will be conducted through its Centre of Excellence for External Drug Discovery (CEEDD), a GSK release said.
ChemoCentryx will receive an upfront payment of $63.5 million comprised of cash and an equity investment in the form of a Series D financing. In addition, ChemoCentryx will receive research funding and will be eligible to earn milestone payments up to, potentially, $1.5 billion, across 6 product options on the four targets, assuming successful development and commercialisation. ChemoCentryx will also receive double-digit royalties on all collaboration product sales and will be able to increase royalties in certain instances by co-funding development through Phase III clinical trials. Furthermore, under certain circumstances, upon an initial public offering by ChemoCentryx, GSK will invest in ChemoCentryx's common stock.
Under the terms of the agreement, ChemoCentryx will be responsible for the discovery and development of small molecule drug candidates targeting four specific chemokine and chemo-attractant receptor targets through clinical proof of concept, at which point GSK will have exclusive options to license each product for further development and commercialisation on a worldwide basis. The agreement encompasses Traficet-EN, a specific CCR9 antagonist currently in a multinational clinical trial (PROTECT-1 trial) of greater than 400 patients with IBD, as well as 3 ongoing pre-agreed pre-clinical research programmes involving named but undisclosed chemokine and chemoattractant receptor targets. ChemoCentryx will retain the option to co-develop and to co-promote Traficet-EN in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to certain physician specialists in the US.
"We are extremely pleased to be working closely with GSK as a premiere global pharmaceutical company. Their outstanding commitment to pharmaceutical innovation and broad expertise and experience in the development and commercialisation of new medicines in inflammatory conditions make them an ideal collaborator," said Thomas J. Schall, Ph.D., President and CEO of ChemoCentryx. "This important alliance with GSK will provide us with access to significant capital in the near and long term to support the ongoing development of each of these programmes, as well as the ability to continue to discover and bring forward multiple new compounds targeting the chemokine system."
Maxine Gowen, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and head of GSK's CEEDD stated, "The ChemoCentryx alliance is a landmark relationship for the CEEDD. This collaboration clearly demonstrates GSK's commitment to gain access to leading-edge, best anywhere science and we are excited by the opportunity to work with ChemoCentryx, the leading chemokine company, and their world class team. Accessing their expertise and four advanced chemokine programmes, including, Traficet-EN®in the clinic for IBD, will allow us to bring novel medicines to patients with high unmet need".
ChemoCentryx has established a broad pipeline of clinical and preclinical stage chemokine-based therapeutics, each targeting distinct chemokine and chemoattractant receptors and offering the potential to treat various diseases. ChemoCentryx is currently conducting the PROTECT-1 Trial for Traficet-EN for patients with moderate to severe Crohn's disease, one of the most common forms of IBD. Traficet-E is intended to control the inappropriate inflammatory response underlying IBD by targeting the CCR9 chemokine receptor. Other included programmes target receptors that are implicated in a number of inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus, acute macular degeneration and asthma.
GlaxoSmithKline is enhancing the way it discovers and develops drugs by creating a small dedicated team who will feed the GSK pipeline solely through the efforts of its external alliances. The CEEDD (Centre of Excellence for External Drug Discovery) was formed as further validation of GSK's strategy to create small, independent and accountable R&D teams (Centres of Excellence for Drug Discovery or CEDDs). In essence, the CEEDD will 'virtualise' a portion of the GSK pipeline; namely, from target to clinical proof of concept, by forming multiple risk-sharing/reward-sharing alliances. Capitalising on the speed and efficiency of its collaborators will allow GSK to deliver pharmaceuticals products faster to patients.