GlaxoSmithKline has put down €22.5 million and promised up to €430 million more to license the rights to two early-stage Alzheimer's disease vaccines from Austria's AFFiRiS. Glaxo picks up exclusive rights to two vaccines in Phase I testing and an option on preclinical candidates.

The deal is an endorsement of AFFiRiS' technology. The biotech boasts of being able to design proteins that have very specific binding abilities, a key feature for anyone creating a vaccine that can attack the beta-amyloid associated with Alzheimer's.

"We are impressed with the AFFiRiS technology--combined with our expertise in innovative adjuvant systems--this collaboration will improve our chance of success in the discovery of new treatments against this major disease," said Jean Stephenne (photo), president and general manager of GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals.

- read the joint release

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