China-based Frontier Biotechnologies Inc. has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with GSK, a global biopharma company. Under the terms of the agreement, GSK will obtain exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialise two of Frontier Biotech's Small Interfering RNA (siRNA) pipeline products, one of which is currently at Investigational New Drug (IND) stage and the other is a preclinical candidate.
This agreement highlights the company's expertise in early-stage siRNA drug discovery and development, and marks a significant milestone in advancing its global development strategy.
Under the agreement, the company will receive $40 million upfront and up to $963 million in success-based development, regulatory, and commercial milestones in total across the two programmes, as well as tiered royalties on net sales worldwide.
The company will be responsible for the initial advancement of the two investigational assets, taking one asset through the Phase I clinical trial in China, and completing IND enabling activities with the other. GSK will be responsible for all subsequent global clinical development, regulatory submissions, and commercialisation activities.
Currently, siRNA drug development is accelerating its expansion from rare diseases into common chronic disease areas such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and metabolic disorders, demonstrating great market potential.
