UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR
15d-16
UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the
month of July 2020
Commission
File Number 001-15170
GlaxoSmithKline plc
(Translation
of registrant's name into English)
980 Great West Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 9GS
(Address
of principal executive office)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form
20-F . . . .X. . . . Form 40-F . . . . . . . .
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ____
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ____
Issued: 20th July
2020, London UK; Tübingen, Germany/ Boston, MA, USA - LSE
announcement
GSK and CureVac announce strategic mRNA technology collaboration
● Companies to collaborate on mRNA vaccine and
monoclonal antibody research programmes in infectious
diseases
● GSK to make equity investment of £130m
(€150m) in CureVac, and an upfront payment of £104m
(€120m)
GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) and CureVac
today announced the signing of a strategic collaboration
agreement for the research, development,
manufacturing and commercialisation of up to five mRNA-based
vaccines and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting infectious
disease pathogens. The collaboration complements GSK's
existing mRNA capabilities with CureVac's integrated mRNA
platform.
mRNA (messenger RNA) technology is a rapidly progressing,
cutting-edge platform for the development of new vaccines and
medicines, potentially expanding the range of diseases which can be
prevented or treated, while also promising to significantly speed
up development and manufacturing. mRNA enables protein synthesis in
the human body, carrying the genetic code required for cells to
manufacture and express proteins. By using mRNA technology in
vaccines and medicines, specific proteins, or antigens, can be
produced by the body's own cells, enabling the human immune system
to prevent or fight disease.
CureVac's
leadership in mRNA technology, along with its mRNA manufacturing
capability, complements GSKs existing scientific leadership in
vaccines, including GSKs own self-amplifying mRNA (SAM) vaccine
technology platform, and further builds on GSKs growing capability
in mAbs innovation, aligned to its R&D focus on the science of
immunology. Advancing mRNA-based vaccine and treatment technologies
is also expected to play a role in further improving response
against future pandemics.
Roger
Connor, President GSK Vaccines, said: "GSK's self-amplifying mRNA
(SAM) vaccine technology has shown us the potential of mRNA
technology to advance the science of vaccine development, and
CureVac's experience complements our own expertise. Through
the application of mRNA technology, including SAM, we hope to be
able to develop and scale up advanced vaccines and therapies to
treat and prevent infectious diseases quicker than ever
before."
Dr. Franz-Werner Haas, acting Chief Executive Officer of CureVac,
added: "We are delighted to partner with GSK. With this
collaboration, we are gaining a world-class partner whose expertise
and global footprint will allow us to further develop and translate
the value of our platform into potential products for the
world."
The companies will combine their mRNA expertise on development
opportunities across a range of infectious disease pathogens,
selected with the potential to best leverage the advantages of this
platform technology, while addressing significant unmet medical
need and economic burden. CureVac's existing COVID-19 mRNA
and rabies vaccines research programmes are not included in the
collaboration announced today.
Under the terms of the deal, GSK will make an equity investment in
CureVac of £130m (€150m), representing close to a 10%
stake, an upfront cash payment of £104m (€120m) and a
one-time reimbursable payment of £26m (€30m) for
manufacturing capacity reservation, upon certification of CureVac's
commercial scale manufacturing facility currently under
construction in Germany.
CureVac will be eligible to receive development and regulatory
milestone payments of up to £277m (€320m), commercial
milestone payments of up to £329m (€380m) and tiered
royalties on product sales.
GSK will fund R&D activities at CureVac related to the
development projects covered by the collaboration. CureVac will be
responsible for the preclinical- and clinical-development through
Phase 1 trials of these projects, after which GSK will be
responsible for further development and commercialization. CureVac
will be responsible for the GMP manufacturing of the product
candidates, including for commercialization, and will retain
commercialization rights for selected countries for all product
candidates.
About GSK
GSK is a science-led global healthcare company with a special
purpose: to help people do more, feel better, live longer. For
further information please visit www.gsk.com/about-us.
About CureVac's mRNA technology platform
CureVac's mRNA technology platform has shown potential in the
development and production of mRNA based vaccines and
therapeutics. CureVac's RNAoptimizer platform aims to optimize the
properties of mRNA medicines based on its three core pillars:
protein design, mRNA optimization and mRNA delivery. The technology
can be tailored to induce varying degrees of immune responses
against specific protein antigens of choice, potentially providing
potent prophylactic vaccines for the prevention of infectious
diseases, such as Rabies, as well as immunotherapies for the
treatment of cancer. The technology can also be adapted to avoid
immune activation for purposes of protein therapy and antibodies,
thereby providing potential new therapeutic modalities for patients
suffering from a vast range of diseases.
About CureVac
CureVac is a leading clinical stage biotechnology company in the
field of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology with 20 years of expertise
in developing and optimizing this versatile molecule for medical
purposes. The principle of CureVac's proprietary technology is the
use of mRNA as a data carrier to instruct the human body to produce
its own proteins capable of fighting a wide range of diseases. The
company applies its technologies for the development of cancer
therapies, antibody therapies, the treatment of rare diseases, and
prophylactic vaccines. CureVac has received significant
investments, amongst others from dievini Hopp BioTech holding and
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In June 2020, the German
Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy announced its commitment
to invest 300 million Euros in CureVac through the Kreditanstalt
für Wiederaufbau (KfW). CureVac has also entered into
collaborations with multinational corporations and organizations,
including Boehringer Ingelheim, Genmab, CRISPR Therapeutics, the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CEPI and others. CureVac is
headquartered in Tübingen, Germany with sites in Frankfurt and
Boston, USA.
For more information, please visit www.curevac.com/ or
follow CureVac on Twitter at @CureVacAG.
GSK enquiries:
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UK Media enquiries:
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Simon Steel
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+44 (0) 20 8047 5502
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(London)
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Tim Foley
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+44 (0) 20 8047 5502
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(London)
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Simon Moore
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+44 (0) 20 8047 5502
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(London)
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US Media enquiries:
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Kristen Neese
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+1 804 217 8147
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(Philadelphia)
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Kathleen Quinn
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+1 202 603 5003
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(Washington DC)
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Analyst/Investor enquiries:
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Sarah Elton-Farr
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+44 (0) 20 8047 5194
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(London)
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Danielle Smith
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+44 (0) 20 8047 0932
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(London)
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James Dodwell
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+44 (0) 20 8047 2406
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(London)
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Jeff McLaughlin
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+1 215 751 7002
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(Philadelphia)
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Frannie DeFranco
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+1 215 751 4855
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(Philadelphia)
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CureVac enquiries:
Media enquiries:
Thorsten Schüller, Corporate Communications
CureVac AG, Tübingen, Germany
T: +49 7071 9883-1577
thorsten.schueller@curevac.com
Investor enquiries:
Dr. Sarah Fakih, Vice President Investor Relations
CureVac AG, Tübingen, Germany
T: +49 7071 9883-1298
sarah.fakih@curevac.com
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Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking
statements
GSK
cautions investors that any forward-looking statements or
projections made by GSK, including those made in this announcement,
are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected. Such factors
include, but are not limited to, those described under Item 3.D
"Risk Factors" in the company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2019
and any impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Registered in England & Wales:
No.
3888792
Registered Office:
980
Great West Road
Brentford,
Middlesex
TW8
9GS
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorised.
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GlaxoSmithKline plc
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(Registrant)
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Date: July
20, 2020
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By:/s/ VICTORIA
WHYTE
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Victoria Whyte
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Authorised
Signatory for and on
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behalf
of GlaxoSmithKline plc
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