Ranbaxy And GSK Extend R&D Ties

Ranbaxy Laboratories and GlaxoSmithKline have expanded a four-year-old R&D agreement. Under the original deal, Ranbaxy limited itself to optimization chemistry work on drug leads. Now, the Delhi-based firm will continue developing leads to the point of clinical proof of concept. Ranbaxy says it could receive more than $100 million in milestone payments as well as product sales royalties in the double-digit range. The firms say they will work on anti-infective, metabolic, respiratory, and oncology products. GSK is managing the collaboration as part of its Center of Excellence for External Drug Discovery (CEEDD), which is an attempt to boost the company's pipeline through third-party research.