UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline and USA-based Targacept have formed a strategic alliance to discover, develop and market novel therapeutics that selectively target specified neuronal nicotinic receptors (NNRs).
The deal, which is potentially worth over $1.5 billion, includes Targacept's lead product candidates - two NNR-based painkillers. On the day of the news, July 30, shares in the US firm rose 20% to $1.79.
The two painkillers at the center of the accord are TC-2696, which is currently in a Phase II trial for acute post-operative pain, and TC-6499, a preclinical product candidate planned for development as a neuropathic painkiller. Targacept has retained an option to co-promote both agents for pain to specialists and hospital-based physicians in the USA.
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