GSK and Chroma Therapeutics to develop macrophage-targeted drugs

GlaxoSmithKline has signed a research deal with Chroma Therapeutics giving it access to the Oxford, UK-based biotech's esterase-sensitive motif (ESM) technology for targeting small molecules directly into macrophages, to develop treatments for inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Chroma Therapeutics has the potential to receive $1bn in total milestone and options payments from GSK if all four discovery and development programmes covered by the agreement with GSK's Centre of Excellence for External Drug Discovery (CEEDD) are successful.

Chroma will receive a "significant" up-front cash payment and, in addition, GSK will invest in the firm's recently announced £15m Series D equity financing, alongside the existing investors.

"We are delighted to collaborate with GSK to advance novel targeted therapies using our proprietary ESM technology," said Ian Nicholson, ceo of Chroma Therapeutics.

"This collaboration provides strong validation of our technology platform and will enable Chroma to progress a broad pipeline of novel agents against a range of serious diseases."

For each of the four research programmes, Chroma takes responsibility for all r&d through to clinical proof of concept. If it decides to take up its options at this point, GSK will then take on all further development and commercialisation work.

"This agreement marks GSK's continued efforts to access the best science and technology platforms worldwide," said Shelagh Wilson, vice president and head of the European CEEDD. "We believe Chroma's ESM platform has tremendous potential, and look forward to working with Chroma to accelerate the discovery and development of innovative new medicines for patients."

The agreement is the latest in a series of collaborations entered into by CEEDD to ensure GSK has promising products at all stages in the development pipeline. The company has also recently signed agreements with US firm Concert Pharmaceuticals and Oxford BioTherapeutics, as well as with Anglo-German firm Cellzome last year.

Chroma Therapeutics was founded in 2000 by Cancer Research Ventures to exploit research work by Professor Tony Kouzarides at the University of Cambridge and Professor Paul Workman at the Institute of Cancer Research in London. The company's lead product is a late-stage leukaemia treatment, which is not part of the agreement with GSK, but Chroma will use part of the new equity funding to develop its aminopeptidase inhibitor, tosedostat (CHR-2797) into late-stage clinical studies in cancer.