GSK signs deal worth USD 1 Bn for onco drug

GlaxoSmithKline and Synta entered into a global collaboration agreement to develop and commercialise Synta's oncology drug, STA-4783, which is entering Phase III development for metastatic melanoma. The US biotechnology company could receive more than $1 billion from the deal announced Wednesday.
As part of the agreement, GlaxoSmithKline will make an upfront payment of $80 million to Synta, which is also eligible to receive milestone payments of up to $885 million. The companies will jointly develop and market the treatment in the US, while GlaxoSmithKline will be responsible for the drug's development and commercialisation in the rest of the world. Synta will receive royalties on sales of the marketed product outside the US, under the terms of the deal. Additionally, GlaxoSmithKline has an option to purchase as much as $45 million in Synta stock.
The companies said that STA-4783 is a first-in-class small-molecule oxidative stress inducer, and Synta CEO Safi Bahcall remarked that "there hasn't been a drug that acts in a new mechanism that's been approved in 30 years for metastatic melanoma." Furthermore, GlaxoSmithKline's chairman of R&D, Moncef Slaoui, remarked that "the data we have seen from the Phase II trials conducted by Synta have given us confidence in the potential of STA-4783 as a novel means of treating metastatic melanoma." Slaoui added that the deal "further strengthens our late stage oncology pipeline, which currently includes ten Phase III programmes."
Commenting on the news, Collins Stewart's Navid Malik noted that "GlaxoSmithKline is keen on strengthening its oncology pipeline and this is a good way of doing it." The analyst called STA-4783 a "high-risk product," and suggested that if it succeeds in late-stage testing, it could "bring high rewards for both GlaxoSmithKline and Synta."
The Phase III trial of the drug is expected to enrol 600 patients.