Concert and GSK announce collaboration

Concert Pharmaceuticals of Lexington and British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline said that they will collaborate to develop and commercialize deuterium-containing medicines.

"Under the terms of the agreement, Concert will receive $35 million in up-front payments, including a $16.7 million equity investment by GSK," the two companies said in a press release.

The press release added, "Overall, Concert has the potential to receive in excess of $1 billion in total milestone and up-front payments from GSK spread across all programs."

The deal includes three of Concert's research-and-development programs, including CTP-518, a protease inhibitor for the treatment of HIV; CTP-518 is expected to enter Phase I clinical trials in the second half of 2009, the press release said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)