By Cecilia Butini 
 

GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Friday that it is entering into a strategic collaboration with U.S.-based company Alector Inc. for the development of two drugs for the potential treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's.

The deal is worth $700 million plus an additional $1.5 billion in milestone payments from GlaxoSmithKline to Alector if the drugs prove successful in clinical trials and are approved for use, the company said.

The drugs are two monoclonal antibodies belonging to a research field known as immuno-neurology, which uses the body's immune system to fight neurodegeneration, GlaxoSmithKline said.

One of the two antibodies under development, named AL001, is in Phase 3 trials to investigate it in a form of dementia, with results expected at the end of 2023, the company said. The other, named AL1010, is in early-stage trials and is being studied for the treatment of diseases including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, GlaxoSmithKline said.

The company said the deal aligns with its research-and-development focus on immunology, a therapeutic area that GlaxoSmithKline is leveraging alongside vaccines, HIV, oncology and respiratory, it said.

 

Write to Cecilia Butini at cecilia.butini@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 02, 2021 07:44 ET (11:44 GMT)

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