GlaxoSmithKline Aligns With Cellzome

GlaxoSmithKline has teamed up with the privately owned drug discovery firm Cellzome to find and develop selective kinase inhibitors to treat inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis and arthritis. GSK will pay about $25 million for an exclusive option to license small molecules that act against four identified targets, as well as against three new targets to be jointly discovered by the partners. Cellzome's technology uses native kinases isolated from human cells and tissues. The company says that approach enables screening of compounds in a physiological setting, thus providing a better idea of how drug candidates will act in humans.