Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (Ranbaxy) announced today that the Company and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have signed a new multiyear R&D agreement that modifies and expands the terms of their strategic alliance established in 2003 to provide Ranbaxy expanded drug-development responsibilities and further financial opportunities.

Under the original agreement, Ranbaxy conducted the optimization chemistry required to progress drug leads to the stage of candidate selection. Under the new agreement, Ranbaxy will advance leads beyond candidate selection to completion of clinical proof of concept. GSK thereafter will conduct further clinical development for each program and take resulting products through the regulatory approval process to final commercialization.

Ranbaxy could receive over $100 Mn in potential milestone payments for a product developed by Ranbaxy and subsequently launched by GSK in multiple indications and up to double digit royalties on worldwide net sales. Ranbaxy will retain the right to co-commercialize the products in India. The new milestones and royalties will apply both to future drug discovery programs and to the two programs currently ongoing  at Ranbaxy,  that were commenced under the original agreement with GSK.

This expanded alliance envisages potential work in a wide range of therapeutics of interest to GSK, including anti-infectives and metabolic, respiratory and oncology products. While recognizing the performance and clinical-development capabilities of Ranbaxy, it also conforms to the remit of GSK's Center of Excellence for External Drug Discovery ("CEEDD").

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