Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline Expand Their Partnership
Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ: VIR) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) have gone from dating to a full-blown relationship in under a year. Could a marriage be next?
Last April, the duo hooked up to develop antibody treatments and preventive options for COVID-19. As part of the deal, GlaxoSmithKline took a $250 million stake in Vir.
The giant British drugmaker must have liked what it saw in the American biotech because it is expanding its relationship with Vir to include treatments for influenza. The deal gives GlaxoSmithKline an exclusive option to co-develop Vir's lead flu treatment, VIR-2482, and includes a three-year research collaboration on next-generation antibodies for the prevention or treatment of the flu, as well as antibody treatments for up to three undisclosed targets. The companies are also expanding their functional genomics collaboration beyond the coronavirus into other respiratory virus targets.
Source Fool.com
