Cellzome Achieves Clinical Candidate Milestone from Inflammation Alliance with GlaxoSmithKline

16-Sep-2011 - Germany

Cellzome announces that it has successfully reached the clinical candidate milestone for a program as well as a lead declaration milestone for a further target (under a separate program) as part of the kinase alliance with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The achievement of these milestones triggers undisclosed payments from GSK.

The clinical candidate and lead were derived from Cellzome’s chemistry using Kinobeads™, a proprietary chemoproteomic screening and profiling approach utilizing native proteins under close-to-physiological conditions. The clinical candidate is highly selective for its kinase target and has limited and precise effects on immune cell functions as well as a good in vivo safety profile.

In September 2008, Cellzome and GSK announced a worldwide strategic alliance which uses Cellzome’s drug discovery and development capabilities and its proprietary Kinobeads™ technology to identify, develop and market novel kinase-targeted therapeutics to treat inflammatory diseases. GSK has exclusive options to license drug candidates from Cellzome’s kinase programs directed against seven targets. Cellzome will develop these programs to clinical proof of concept, unless GSK elects to exercise its option earlier. Cellzome is eligible to receive success-based milestones from GSK as product candidates are advanced. The first milestone in the alliance was announced in December 2008.

Tim Edwards, CEO of Cellzome, said: “The achievement of these milestones underlines the solid progress we are making in our kinase collaboration with GSK.  They demonstrate how productively the KinobeadsTM platform is integrated into our overall drug discovery effort, which is now producing innovative compounds with the drug-like properties necessary for clinical candidates.”

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