GlaxoSmithKline PLC (LSE:GSK) is to bolster its vaccines pipeline in a deal worth up to US$3.3bn.
It is acquiring Affinivax Inc, which gives it access to a technology being developed to treat pneumococcal diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis and bloodstream infections.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts, drug developer’s most advanced asset is AFX3772, a phase II inoculation designed to offer protection against pneumonia.
It was created using Affinivax’s multiple antigen-presenting system, also known as MAPS, which is thought to provoke a greater immune response than conventional treatments (where they exist).
The payments for the business will be staged, with US$2.2bn upfront, and the remainder, US$1.2bn, handed over once certain developmental milestones have been achieved.
"The proposed acquisition further strengthens our vaccines R&D pipeline, provides access to a new, potentially disruptive technology, and broadens GSK's existing scientific footprint in the Boston area,” said Dr Hal Barron, GSK’s chief scientific officer.