GSK passes on Cytokinetics options
GlaxoSmithKline (LSE:GSK;NYSE:GSK) said it will not exercise its option to license ispinesib and SB-743921 from Cytokinetics (NASDAQ:CYTK) under a 2001 deal. GSK said the decision not to license the kinesin spindle protein ( KSP) inhibitors was due to a "shift in portfolio direction." The partners will continue to collaborate on GSK- 923295, a small molecule centromere-associated protein E (CENPE) inhibitor in Phase I testing to treat solid tumors, to which Cytokinetics has an option.
Ispinesib is in a Phase I/II trial to treat breast cancer, and SB-743921 is in a Phase I/II trial to treat Hodgkin's disease or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Cytokinetics said it would complete the Phase I portions of these trials to establish Phase II dosing, but may not advance the compounds until a new partner is found so that the biotech can direct resources to its muscle biology programs (See BioCentury, Sep. 22, 2008). ...