GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Domantis Ltd, a leader in developing the next generation of antibody therapies, for £230 million (US$454 million) in cash. Domantis, a privately owned company, will become part of GSK's Biopharmaceuticals Centre of Excellence for Drug Discovery (CEDD) while continuing to operate from laboratories in Cambridge, UK.

The acquisition agreement is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and is expected to complete in January.

"Domantis has pioneered the extension of antibody therapies to potentially far wider applications than has been possible with conventional monoclonal antibodies," said Mike Owen, senior vice president, Biopharmaceuticals CEDD, GSK. "Its talent and world-leading technology will complement the work we are already taking forward in the CEDD to put GSK at the forefront of biotechnology."

Robert Connelly, Domantis founding CEO, said, "The agreement with GSK allows us to embed our R&D organization intact within a company committed to fully exploiting the potential therapeutic applications of our technology. I am delighted that GSK has made this major investment in our technology, our people, and our product pipeline."

Monoclonal antibodies, laboratory-engineered versions of the antibodies found in the natural immune system, can bind with exquisite precision to targets in the body. Yet their therapeutic applications, while growing rapidly, have been constrained by their large molecular size. Currently marketed therapeutic antibodies have to be administered by injection or infusion.