GSK offers $1.4B to license OncoMed therapies

Trend spotter alert: GlaxoSmithKline's newly announced $1.4 billion partnership pact with OncoMed [1] delivers fresh evidence of just how hot antibodies and the cancer field are these days. OncoMed gets an upfront fee (no figure was given) with an equity investment from GSK along with a string of prospective milestone paydays. Glaxo gains the right to license four cancer therapies from OncoMed that treat metastatic cancer. Once proof-of-concept data is in hand, Glaxo intends to take over development work. OncoMed's lead antibody product candidate, OMP-21M18, a monoclonal antibody [2], is scheduled to enter the clinic in 2008.

"We believe that targeting cancer stem cells has the potential to change the paradigm of how oncology patients are treated and we are very excited to be working with OncoMed to develop novel and innovative medicines in this regard," said Hugh Cowley, M.D., senior vice president and head of Glaxo's Center of Excellence for External Drug Discovery.

- and here's the release [3]
- check out the report [4] from Hemscott

ALSO: GlaxoSmithKline and Galapagos have forged a multi-year strategic alliance to develop novel anti-infective drug candidates. Release [5]

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OncoMed snares $13.9M in first round. Report [1]