Antigenics shares spike as GSK launches PhIII

GlaxoSmithKline isn't the only company cheering the launch of a late-stage program for a shingles vaccine that could prove to be a blockbuster. Antigenics flagged its own role in the parade and was rewarded with a 20 percent spike in its share price. Antigenics supplied the adjuvant for GSK's vaccine. And as CEO Garo Armen notes in a release, the Lexington, MA-based company stands to gain a fresh revenue stream in the event the Phase III program ends on a bright note....

GSK orders Sirtris execs to stop selling resveratrol

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) has ordered two Sirtris executives--Christoph Westphal and Michelle Dipp--to stop selling a resveratrol dietary supplement based on the drug the two companies have in development. In 2008, GSK forked over $720 million for access to Sirtris' pipeline of drugs based on resveratrol, a compound found in red wine that's thought to increase longevity. Many consumers have been clamoring for access to resveratrol after news report touting its anti-aging...

FDA panel backs new epilepsy drug from GSK, Valeant

GlaxoSmithKline and Valeant got a solid endorsement for their new epilepsy drug Potiga (ezogabine) from the FDA's panel of experts, putting them on track to a likely approval. The experts unanimously agreed that the drug would benefit epilepsy patients whose meds couldn't stop seizures. And they agreed that careful monitoring would flag patients who experience an inability to urinate while taking the drug. Two of the experts abstained on the main safety issue, which is typically reversible once...

GSK licenses Vectura’s inhalation tech for $32M

GlaxoSmithKline is paying UK-based Vectura group $31.8 million dollars to license Vectura's dry powder drug formulation patents in relation to two late stage development compounds in GSK's respiratory drug pipeline. The drugmaker gets will receive up to £20 million ($31.8 million) in up-front and milestone payments, and Vectura could also earn up to £13 million in royalties on products resulting from use of its patents. According to Dow Jones the patents are for GSK642444...

299423: GSK cites progress with a new-gen antibiotic

Investigators at GlaxoSmithKline are excited about the prospect of a new antibiotic that uses a different approach to kill drug-resistant bacteria now rampaging through hospitals. Imaging technology has captured proof that the antibiotic latches on to the enzyme topoisomerase, which bacteria need to replicate. A generation of quinolones has effectively targeted that enzyme. But they're losing effectiveness and GSK, teamed with the Wellcome Trust's Seeding Drug Discovery initiative and the U.S....

Anacor gets $15M from GSK

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) has obtained an exclusive licence to develop and commercialize an antibiotic derived from Anacor's boron chemistry platform. As a result, Anacor will receive $15 million and is eligible for further milestone payments and royalties on any future product sales. GSK is assuming responsibility for further development of the compound and any resulting commercialization. In early stage studies, GSK2251052 (GSK '052) has shown robust activity against...

Is a bidding war for Genzyme looming?

The Wall Street Journal stirred up considerable market buzz over the weekend with its report that GlaxoSmithKline had casually asked Genzyme to keep it posted if it ever decides to put the company on the auction block. But GSK chief Andrew Witty quickly doused the speculation with his insistence that the Big Pharma company is really on the lookout for small "bolt-on" acquisitions. And some top industry experts quickly shifted the attention back to Sanofi-Aventis, which they believe is far...

Shionogi, GSK move HIV drug into PhIII

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) and partner Shionogi say they are bringing their once-daily, unboosted investigational integrase inhibitor, S/GSK1349572 into Phase III trials. According to an announcement, ‘572 will be the only such product so far along in development.  The companies' decision is based on promising results from two Phase IIb trials, SPRING-1 and VIKING, being presented this week at the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria. If it performs well in tests,...

GSK-backed startup has ambitious plans for immunology

There's quite a competition these days for the best minds in the field of adaptive immune responses, and GlaxoSmithKline has provided Tempero Pharmaceuticals with some of the hottest recruits to be found in this emerging class of new drugs. As Xconomy's Ryan McBride reports, GSK launched Tempero just a little more than a year ago to establish a leading position in this section of the immunology field, and it quickly focused on the top academics. "There was a realization that a lot of the basic...

XenoPort’s lead program suffers another big setback

A bad year for XenoPort (XNPT) just got substantially worse. The Santa Clara, CA-based developer says that its lead program--which is partnered with GlaxoSmithKline--flunked a Phase IIb trial for migraines, apparently scuttled by a high placebo effect.  And XenoPort's already battered share price plunged more than 25 percent as investors digested the fresh round of sour reports. GSK1838262/XP13512, also known as Horizant, failed to perform significantly better than a placebo among the...