GSK in-licenses MAb asthma drug candidate from Janssen

In a busy news day for UK pharma major, GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) today announced that it has entered into an exclusive, worldwide licence agreement with Janssen Sciences Ireland, a unit of US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) for CNTO 7160, an anti-IL-33R monoclonal antibody (MAb) currently in Phase I clinical development. The agreement covers all therapeutic fields.

CNTO 7160 is a biological therapy that prevents interleukin-33 from binding to the ST2 receptor (IL-33R) and could be applicable to a broad spectrum of severe asthmatic populations. There is strong human genetic evidence and target biology linking the IL-33 pathway to asthma and regulation of inflammatory cells known to be important in asthma, including neutrophils and eosinophils.

Under the terms of the agreement, GSK will assume all development, manufacturing and commercialization activities worldwide with the exception of the ongoing Phase I study, which Janssen will continue to run through to completion.