GSK pens $745M deal for phase 1 drug that hits sweet spots of COPD, oligonucleotides
FIERCE BIOTECH—GSK’s antibody-drug conjugate strategy may be making more headlines recently, but the British pharma hasn’t forgotten about oligonucleotides.
The drugmaker is paying $85 million upfront to Empirico for the rights to a siRNA oligonuceleotide dubbed EMP-012 that’s already in a phase 1 study for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The candidate has “best-in-class” potential, according to GSK, which hopes to broaden EMP-012’s use to other inflammatory respiratory diseases.
The oligonclueotide targets a specific inflammatory pathway that has “potential for a therapeutic approach that is agnostic of baseline type 2 inflammation, smoking or co-morbid disease,” GSK said in an Oct. 28 release.
The aim is to focus the asset on patients with non-type 2 inflammation, which the pharma described as a “key patient sub-group where treatment options are limited.”
As well as the upfront payment, GSK could ultimately pay out up to $660 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments as well as tiered royalties on sales if EMP-012 makes it to market.