Prosensa to get milestone payments from GSK under Duchenne collaboration

Dutch biotech company Prosensa, focusing on rare diseases with an unmet medical need, has agreed with GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) to advance three further exon skipping compounds (PRO044, PRO045 and PRO053) into the next development stage under their ongoing collaboration relationship in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Under the collaboration, Prosensa is eligible for milestone payments and development funding payments which could total up to £27 million ($42.9 million), depending upon the course and outcome of the clinical development for these programs. Prosensa and GSK’s original accord gave the Dutch firm an initial £16 million and eligibility for milestones over four compounds of as much as £428 million (The Pharma Letter October 14, 2009).

The two companies have agreed upon the development terms for the exon 44 skipping program, which sees GSK providing additional support for PRO044, currently in Phase I/II. Prosensa and GSK will also work together on a preclinical and clinical development program for PRO045 and PRO053, which are expected to enter clinical trials in the first half of 2012. The three candidates PRO044, PRO045 and PRO053 are compounds designed to skip exons 44, 45 and 53 respectively, in the dystrophin gene, each targeting different subpopulations of DMD patients.