6 January 2012 - US ChemoCentryx Inc said on Thursday that UK GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK) has exercised its option to gain an exclusive licence for further development and worldwide commercialisation of CCX354, a potent and selective inhibitor of CCR1, a chemokine receptor that drives the recruitment of inflammatory cells into the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Under the agreement, ChemoCentryx will receive an option exercise fee of USD25m (EUR19.7m) and will be eligible for further regulatory and sales milestone payments. Subject to successful development and commercialisation of CCX354, ChemoCentryx will also receive double-digit royalties on net sales.

GlaxoSmithKline will now be solely responsible for funding further clinical development and commercialisation for CCX354 worldwide.

ChemoCentryx recently unveiled encouraging data from a Phase II study with CCX354 which evaluated the safety, tolerability, clinical and biological activity of this compound in patients with RA.

This transaction represents the second product licensing opportunity resulting from the original partnership with ChemoCentryx through GlaxoSmithKline's Centre of Excellence for External Drug Discovery (CEEDD). GlaxoSmithKline previously exercised its option to license ChemoCentryx's CCX282-B (Traficet-EN), now designated GSK1605786 (also called GSK'786), an orally active CCR9 inhibitor, for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, in January 2010.

(USD1 = EUR0.786)