Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to treat severe medical conditions, announced that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Synta will end the collaborative agreement for the clinical development and commercialization of elesclomol effective no later than September 10, 2009. Worldwide rights to elesclomol will revert to Synta and Synta may pay GSK a low single-digit royalty on any potential future sales of elesclomol.

"We appreciate GSK's contributions to this programme and understand their decision," said Safi R. Bahcall, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Synta. "We will be meeting with medical and scientific advisors to review the data from the Symmetry trial and additional results later this year, and will use this guidance to inform our choices for a path forward for the program. We expect to report more on additional data and plans for the programme later this year."

"While we are continuing to evaluate the potential of elesclomol, we are focusing our resources on the other programs in our portfolio, particularly our Hsp90 programme for which we expect to initiate a number of new clinical trials in the near term," continued Dr. Bahcall. "With a strong cash position, a portfolio of first-in-class and best-in-class programs, and a productive discovery engine, we are excited about the potential of our pipeline and are committed to realizing the potential of these programs to benefit patients."

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to extend and enhance the lives of patients with severe medical conditions, including cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases.