Isis Earns $7 Mln In Milestone Payments From GSK For ISIS-GSK3 Advancement

(RTTNews) - Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(ISIS) Monday said it earned $7 million in milestone payments from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L, GSK) for the advancement of ISIS-GSK3, an antisense drug designed to inhibit the production of an undisclosed target to treat a common viral infection.

Isis will develop ISIS-GSK3 to Phase 2 proof-of-concept, after which GSK has an exclusive option to in-license the program and further develop and commercialize the asset.

Isis said it is eligible to earn additional pre-licensing milestone payments from GSK as the development of the drug advances, pursuant to the alliance. Isis is also eligible to receive double-digit royalties on sales of ISIS-GSK3.

The alliance applies Isis' antisense drug discovery platform to discover and develop new therapeutics against targets for rare and/or serious diseases.