Under the original agreement, Ranbaxy conducted the optimization chemistry required to progress drug leads to the stage of candidate selection.
Under the new agreement, Ranbaxy will advance leads beyond candidate selection to completion of clinical proof of concept. GSK thereafter will conduct further clinical development for each program and take resulting products through the regulatory approval process to final commercialization.
Ranbaxy could receive over $100 million in potential milestone payments for the products developed and up to double digit royalties on sales. Ranbaxy will retain the right to co-commercialize the products in India. The new milestones and royalties will also apply to the two programs currently ongoing at Ranbaxy that were commenced under the original agreement with GSK.
This expanded alliance envisages potential work in a wide range of therapeutics including anti-infectives, metabolic, respiratory and oncology products.
“The agreement presents a unique opportunity to demonstrate the India centric advantages of high quality R&D to deliver value at the cutting edge. I believe the arrangement with GSK is path-breaking and acknowledges the higher level of R&D maturity prevalent today in our state-of-the art labs in India,” said Malvinder Mohan Singh, CEO of Ranbaxy.