Wragge & Co advises Astex on £300 million drug discovery alliance

Wragge & Co LLP's Life Sciences team has advised long-standing client Astex Therapeutics Limited on a £300 million drug discovery alliance with healthcare giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

Biotechnology company Astex has collaborated with GSK to research and develop novel targeted therapies for a range of illnesses identified by GSK. As part of the deal, GSK has committed a £20 million upfront investment, plus substantial milestone and royalty payments. The collaboration could be worth more than £300 million to Astex if all programmes are successfully developed and commercialised.

Partner and head of life sciences Patrick Duxbury advised on the collaboration agreement, supported by solicitor Alice Stagg. Corporate partner Kevin Jones and solicitor Chris Towle led on the equity issues. The expert team worked closely with Astex's chief business officer Martin Buckland, chief financial officer John Aston and vice president of intellectual property Lyn Leaper to ensure a smooth transaction.

Patrick Duxbury said: "We have advised Astex for more than a decade. Strong technical and sector expertise has helped us to develop a close relationship with this ambitious company. This was a complex alliance, and one which should further establish Astex as a leader in the discovery and development of innovative drugs."

Martin Buckland added: "We were delighted to be working again with Pat, Kevin and their teams. The long relationship Astex has had with Wragge & Co meant that the firm was able to provide professional but pragmatic advice based on its in-depth understanding of our business."

A UK-based biotechnology company, Astex discovers and develops novel small molecule therapeutics. Using its pioneering fragment-based drug discovery platform Pyramid™, it has built a pipeline of five molecularly-targeted oncology drugs. Wragge & Co's previous work for the company includes advising on a landmark $500 million drug discovery alliance with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V in June 2008.

GlaxoSmithKline is a research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare company. Robert Aboud, deputy general counsel of GSK Research and Development, advised GSK in the US, supported by Senior Counsel Stephen Ferenchick.

Wragge & Co's cross-firm life sciences practice delivers a unique mix of IP, corporate, antitrust, regulatory and dispute resolution advice to many industry leaders. Its clients range from start-ups to multi-nationals and the team is increasingly involved in high-profile, international transactions. In June, the team advised biotechnology company Chroma Therapeutics Limited on two simultaneous transactions, worth a potential $1 billion.