University College London spin-out Pentraxin Therapeutic Ltd.’s March 2009 tie-up with GlaxoSmithKline PLC around a novel treatment for amyloidosis wasn’t a big deal (financials weren’t given). [See Deal] But it was noteworthy for showing GSK’s small-unit structure at work, and its willingness to invest in risky, early-stage research. Also interesting was the compound in question: a small-molecule and antibody dual treatment that Pentraxin claims is unprecedented in drug development. Then in April 2009, Pentraxin announced promising clinical data with the small-molecule component of the program in patients with Alzheimer’s, raising the possibility that this alliance may yet expand beyond a specialist niche—and provide further validation of Pentraxin’s approach.
The amyloidosis deal came about thanks largely to GSK’s (fairly) fresh-from-academia SVP drug discovery Patrick Vallance, MD, PhD, who joined...
