RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Sept. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Liquidia Technologies today announced that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has exercised its option under a Collaboration and Option Agreement signed in 2012 to exclusively license the right to research, develop, and commercialize inhaled therapeutics derived from the company's proprietary PRINT® technology. Through this collaboration, Liquidia and GSK will continue to work together with the goal of advancing inhaled therapeutics into clinical studies.
"We are very pleased with the progress that has been made over the past three years in our collaboration with GSK. They are a great partner in our exploration of inhaled therapeutic options using our novel PRINT technology," said Neal Fowler, Chief Executive Officer at Liquidia Technologies. "GSK's decision to exercise this option initiates a new and exciting chapter in our relationship. We remain confident in the strength of this collaboration to navigate the path ahead to develop novel inhaled therapies."
According to the agreement signed in June 2012, Liquidia was granted an upfront payment comprised of cash and equity, R&D funding, and potential development milestones and royalties. As a result of the GSK decision to exercise the option, Liquidia will receive an option fee, continued R&D funding, and potential product-based development and regulatory milestone payments. Liquidia has also retained the ability to independently develop an inhaled treatment for a particular disease field.
"We are pleased to continue our collaboration with Liquidia. The exercise of our option supports our commitment to explore advances in science and technology by investing in new platform technologies. These could have the potential to improve current approaches and offer new alternatives to patients," said John Baldoni, Senior Vice President, Platform Technology & Science at GSK.
The PRINT technology is an innovative, highly tunable, and scalable particle engineering platform that allows Liquidia and its collaborators to precisely tailor particle size, shape, charge, hydrophobicity, and composition with the goal of optimizing the safety and effectiveness of vaccines or therapeutics. Beyond this collaboration, Liquidia is harnessing the unique capabilities of PRINT to find and develop novel therapeutic solutions across several disease states where significant unmet medical needs persist. The versatility of the PRINT technology in the development of precision vaccines and therapeutics, combined with proven scale-up cGMP manufacturing capabilities, puts Liquidia at the forefront of developing important therapies of tomorrow by overcoming the challenges associated with traditional product development today.
ABOUT LIQUIDIA TECHNOLOGIES
Liquidia Technologies, founded in 2004, is a privately held biotechnology company located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. By leveraging precise fabrication techniques of the semiconductor industry, Liquidia has become the only company in the world with the ability to rapidly design and manufacture precisely engineered particles of virtually any size, shape, or composition using a unique particle engineering and manufacturing technology known as PRINT® (Particle Replication In Non-Wetting Templates). This unique ability to precisely engineer particles enables scientists to explore new product frontiers that, until now, have been out of reach for the life sciences industry. Liquidia and its partners are currently exploring the application of this novel technology to develop products in several high-growth areas such as vaccines, pulmonary, ophthalmology, oral health, and pain. In addition to the development of its own products, Liquidia licenses the PRINT particle technology and its cGMP manufacturing capabilities to support proprietary programs advanced by collaborators. For more information, please go to www.liquidia.com.
SOURCE Liquidia Technologies
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