Glaxo takes aim at Covid-19 in $250m deal

Bloomberg

UK pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline Plc is joining dozens of companies in the hunt for coronavirus therapies, signing a partnership with Vir Biotechnology Inc. and agreeing to invest $250 million in the US company.
Glaxo and Vir will work together to find experimental antibodies to treat or prevent Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, the British drugmaker said. The companies plan to move two candidates straight into mid-stage trials in three to five months, subject to regulatory approval, Glaxo said.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that multiple therapeutic approaches, used in combination or in sequence, will be necessary to stop this coronavirus,” Vir Chief Executive Officer George Scangos said. “It is likely that the current coronavirus outbreak will not be the last.”
Glaxo and Vir will also combine their experience with Crispr, the gene-editing technology, to identify compounds. They will look at potential vaccines for Covid-19, as well as treatments and shots for other coronaviruses. Any approved treatments would still be many months, if not years, away. The partnership will be the first time the two have officially worked together.
The pact is the latest investment Glaxo is making in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The company formed a research partnership on a potential vaccine with Clover Biopharmaceuticals, a Chinese company, in February, and is also working with AstraZeneca Plc and the UK government to set up a lab to explore new ways of testing for the virus to help overcome shortages of diagnostic materials, a person familiar with the plans said.
The investment comes two days before the end of selling restrictions related to Vir’s initial public offering. The April 8 lockup expiration marks the first opportunity for insiders to sell their shares since Vir went public in October at $20.
Working with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Glaxo agreed earlier this year to bring its technology to the race for a vaccine. That effort will rely on Glaxo’s adjuvant system, designed to enhance the body’s immune response and create stronger and longer lasting protection.
Almost 5,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the UK so far and the peak of the outbreak is likely to hit in the next 7-10 days, according to government advisers and scientists. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was hospitalised on Sunday as a precaution after failing to shake off the virus and its symptoms for 10 days. Many of Britain’s neighbors are showing signs they may have reached peaks, with Spain, Italy and France all reporting a slowdown in deaths.
More than 100 experimental and off-the-shelf therapies are being evaluated to treat the coronavirus, either formally or informally. A number of them have grabbed headlines, including hydroxychloroquine, the antimalarial touted as a treatment by President Donald Trump, and remdesivir, an experimental drug from Gilead Sciences Inc.