Following this purchase, GSK will own 15,151,499 shares of Theravance common stock and Class A common stock, which represent approximately 19% of the total outstanding capital stock of Theravance.
GSK Research & Development chairman Moncef Slaoui said that they have built a strong relationship with Theravance since entering into the collaboration Agreement in 2002.
"We were keen to take advantage of this opportunity to increase our shareholding in Theravance. This reflects the confidence we have in the Relovair programme and the wider late stage respiratory pipeline that we have built up through the collaboration," Slaoui said.
Theravance CEO Rick Winningham said that he is very pleased with the collaboration with GSK which is currently developing a portfolio of next-generation therapies for the treatment of serious respiratory disorders such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
In November 2002, Theravance entered into a long-acting beta2 agonist (LABA) collaboration with GSK to develop and commercialise a once-daily LABA product candidate as part of a new combination medicine with an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) for the treatment of asthma and/or a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and as a single-agent new medicine for the treatment of COPD.
The ICS/ LABA combination medicine, Relovair, is now in Phase III development.
The LAMA/LABA programme is in Phase II development.
In March 2004, Theravance entered into a strategic alliance with GSK. Under this alliance, GSK received an option to license exclusive development and commercialisation rights to product candidates from all of Theravance’s full drug discovery programmes initiated prior to 1 September 2007, on pre-determined terms and on an exclusive, worldwide basis.
Upon licensing a programme, GSK is responsible for funding all future development, manufacturing and commercialisation activities for product candidates in that programme.
A Bifunctional Muscarinic Antagonist-Beta2 Agonist (MABA) for the treatment of COPD has been licensed by GSK under the terms of the strategic alliance. This programme is currently in Phase II development.