China-based Frontier Biotech has entered into an exclusive global licensing agreement with GSK for two of its siRNA pipeline products. Under the agreement, GSK obtains exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise the assets, one of which is at the investigational new drug (IND) application stage, with the other being a preclinical candidate. Frontier will receive an upfront payment of USD 40 million and is eligible for up to a cumulative total of USD 963 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments across the two programs, plus tiered royalties on global net sales.

Frontier will be responsible for the early-stage development work, including conducting a Phase I trial in China for one candidate and completing IND-enabling studies for the other. GSK will assume responsibility for all subsequent global clinical development, regulatory submissions and commercialisation activities. The partnership aligns with GSK's strategy to expand its immunology pipeline and focus on platform technologies for inflammatory diseases, adding two potential first-in-class oligonucleotide therapies.

According to PharmCube's NextBiopharm® database, the US dominates siRNA licensing transactions, with China holding a close second place. Click here to request a free trial for NextBiopharm®.