Principia payoff

With one preclinical deal, Human Genome Sciences Inc. stands to have monetized its acquisition of Principia Pharmaceuticals Corp.

HGSI bought Principia in 2000 for $120 million in stock in order to gain access to its human albumin-based protein fusion technology. Last week, GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE:GSK; GSK, London, U.K.) received exclusive worldwide rights to HGSI's Albugon fusion of glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) and human albumin in exchange for as much as $183 million in upfront and milestone payments. HGSI, which is responsible for manufacturing the fusion protein for Phase I and II trials, also is eligible for royalties...