Glaxo inks $231M pact for Ph3 Amicus drug

Almost a year to the day after Shire dumped its collaboration with Amicus Therapeutics on Amigal and two other programs, triggering a restructuring that claimed 20 percent of the company's staff, the Cranbury, NJ-based developer announced that GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) was partnering on the lead program with a $30 million upfront and $170 million in milestones. And GSK made a $31 million equity investment in the biotech company, grabbing a 19.9 percent stake. The deal marks GlaxoSmithKline's growing interest in rare diseases. Amigal is in Phase III for Fabry's disease, a rare neurological condition. CEO John Crowley called the pact a "transformational event for Amicus." Amicus release