Oxford BioTherapeutics and GSK to develop cancer therapeutic antibodies

Oxford BioTherapeutics (OBT) has formed an alliance with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to discover and develop therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of primary, metastatic and recurring forms of cancer.

GSK will develop antibody therapies against selected OBT targets. In parallel, OBT will develop one of its own monoclonal antibodies through to clinical proof of concept, on which GSK will have an exclusive licensing option and thereafter take responsibility for further clinical development and commercialisation on a worldwide basis.

OBT will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and will be eligible for up to $370m (£244m) on achieving certain milestones. In addition to these payments, OBT will receive royalties on sales of any product that it develops to clinical proof of concept and on worldwide sales of marketed GSK antibody products aimed at OBT targets.

The alliance integrates OBT's expertise in the discovery of oncology targets and therapeutic antibody discovery with GSK's therapeutic antibody discovery and development capabilities.

"This strategic alliance provides important validation of our scientific expertise in the fields of cancer target discovery and broadens OBT's antibody pipeline," said Christian Rohlff, ceo of OBT.

The company will also receive funding to support the development of its pipeline of fully human therapeutic antibodies, which it believes have the potential to meet clinically unmet needs in certain cancer indications.