GSK and Flagship Pioneering ink US$7.2bn biobucks discovery deal

GlaxoSmithKline plc’s (GSK) drug discovery alliance aimed to boosting the pipeline of the British pharma giant with the San Francisco-based biotech platform provider Flagship Pioneering is a licence option deal potentially worth US$720m per programme as well as unspecified preclinical funding and sales royalties. Under the agreement, the companies will invest US$150m into an explorational phase to find new drugs, primarily to treat respiratory and immunological disorders.

Flagship Pioneering invents and builds biotech platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100  scientific ventures, resulting in more than US$75bn in aggregate value. To date, Flagship has deployed over US$3.8bnn in capital toward the founding and growth of its pioneering companies alongside more than $27bnn of follow-on investments from other institutions. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises 40 companies.

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