GSK buys Praecis Pharmaceuticals for $59 million

pharmafile | January 4, 2007 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing  

GlaxoSmithKline has bought US-based biotech company, Praecis, to further boost its novel cancer pipeline.

Its acquisition of Praecis Pharmaceuticals follows the news that it has pledged £235 million towards developing and selling a new cancer drug with Danish biotech firm, Genmab.

Praecis has been sold to GSK for nearly $59 million. The Massachusetts-based company has a novel MetAP-2 inhibitor, PPI-2458, in clinical development for cancer indications, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and solid tumours.

It also has an innovative drug discovery technology Direct Select, which enables the generation and practical use of ultra-large libraries for the discovery of orally active compounds for drug development.

Allen Oliff, senior vice president of GSK's molecular discovery research department, said: "Praecis has created novel therapeutic programmes and innovative chemical-synthesis and screening technology that will complement our own discovery capabilities."

GSK's investment with Genmab involves the development of HuMax-CD20, a fully monoclonal antibody in late-stage development for positive B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

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