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Under the terms of the agreement, Mpex will grant GlaxoSmithKline rightsto product candidates developed under the collaboration that are directed tothree different target product profiles and with the potential to deliver upto seven treatment options. Mpex will be responsible for the discovery of EPIdrug candidates and the development of combination product candidates throughclinical proof of concept, at which point GlaxoSmithKline will have an optionto exclusively license each product candidate for further development andcommercialization on a worldwide basis. Mpex will retain the right to furtherdevelop and commercialize product candidates for which GlaxoSmithKline doesnot exercise its option. Mpex will receive an $8.5 million upfront payment anda $6.5 million equity financing commitment from GlaxoSmithKline. Contingent onachieving certain milestones, Mpex is eligible to receive development,regulatory and commercial milestones ranging up to $200 to $250 million foreach product candidate. If GlaxoSmithKline exercises its option, Mpex willreceive tiered royalties, which are dependent on sales achieved, for EPIs usedin combination with commercially available antibiotics and with proprietaryGSK antibiotics. GlaxoSmithKline will participate in the alliance through itsInfectious Diseases Centre of Excellence for Drug Discovery (ID CEDD).
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"We believe this collaboration has the potential to lead to a number ofimportant new anti-infective products," said Daniel Burgess, President and CEOof Mpex Pharmaceuticals. "The critical role of antibiotic efflux has been wellrecognized in bacterial resistance, but to date, safe and effective effluxpump inhibitors have not been developed. Given the progress Mpex has made inthis program over the last several years, we are optimistic that combining ourefforts with an industry leader such as GlaxoSmithKline will maximize ourchances of success to develop a portfolio of products from this platformtechnology that is greater than we could hope to develop on our own. Inaddition, GlaxoSmithKline has an impressive array of novel new classes ofantibiotics in development, and we believe that a number of these antibioticopportunities could benefit from the addition of an Mpex efflux pumpinhibitor."
"Antibiotic discovery has faced tremendous challenges with the discoveryof only two new classes of antibiotics over the last 3 decades," stated ZhiHong, Senior Vice President of the ID CEDD at GlaxoSmithKline. "Noveldiscovery-enabling and paradigm-shifting approaches are needed to address theever increasing medical needs due to life-threatening bacterial infections anddrug resistance. Efflux pump inhibitors have the potential to add value toexisting antibiotics and also enable progressive development of GSK's novelantibiotic pipeline. Mpex has a first rate entrepreneurial R&D team with deepexperience in antibacterial research and has validated efflux pump inhibitionfor potentiation of antibacterial activity, as well as expanding the spectrumof bacterial susceptibility. I look forward to having a great synergy in thisimportant and strategic collaboration."
Bacterial efflux pumps are an intrinsic defense mechanism in gram-negativebacteria tha
