Biotech Firm Dismisses GlaxoSmithKline Offer

Rockville,Maryland biotech firm Human Genome Sciences has rejected a 13 dollar a share bid by British pharma titan GlaxoSmithKline,with whom it has a partnership in the promotion of lupus drug Benlysta.The offer is inadequate,the company says in a letter to shareholders,because it doesn't capture HGS' inherent value and growth opportunities.HGS listed one of these opportunities as Benlysta,which is not only a treatment for lupus;but shows promise for treating other autoimmune diseases as well.The initial market opportunity for Benlysta is approximately 7 billion dollars in the U.S. alone,the company says.HGS goes on to cite its robust pipeline of new products as underpinning its future prospects,including cardiovascular drug darapladib and diabetes treatment albiglutide.Its early stage pipeline includes potential cancer,autoimmune and Alzheimer's disease medications as well.Glaxo was opportunistically trying to purchase HGS at a low point of the company's share price,HGS said.The Board has authorized management to seek strategic alternatives such as sale to another party to increase HGS' shareholder value.Human Genome's financial advisors,Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs,both recommended against accepting the GSK offer as being inadequate. Human Genome Sciences(HGSI),GlaxoSmithKline(GSK)

A Successful Partnership:GlaxoSmithKline and Human Genome Sciences

British pharma titan GlaxoSmithKline is building on research carried out by Rockville,Maryland biotech firm Human Genome Sciences.Two of GSK's pipeline projects are based on HGS technology.
Darapladib is an inhibitor of the Lp-PLA2 enzyme,which is believed to be a risk factor for coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke.It is a potentially important new treatment for prevention of cardiovascular events.The candidate drug discovered by GSK using an HGS technology is in a Phase 3 trial for efficacy and safety of treatment.
Albiglutide is a biological product created by HGS and licensed by GSK IN 2004.It is designed to act throughout the body to help maintain blood glucose levels and control appetite.This potential long term treatment for type 2 diabetes is also in a Phase 3 trial.
HGS has a substantial financial interest in both of these GSK products which its research has had a formative influence on.
GlaxoSmithKline and Human Genome Sciences are also co-owners and developers of Benlysta,the first new lupus treatment approved in the U.S. in 50 years.
GlaxoSmithKline(GSK),Human Genome Sciences(HGSI)

Human Genome Sciences Sets Cancer Goals

Human Genome Sciences has set its oncology and immunology goals for 2011.The therapies at the center of these goals are in the mid and early stage pipelines.The firm's oncology portfolio is centered around its expertise in the programmed cell death approach.
Human Genome's monoclonal antibody mapatumumab is being studied in combination with Nexavar as a treatment for advanced hepatcellular cancer.At the same time,The company's HGS1029 is being evaluated as a treatment for solid and advanced lymphoid tumors.
HGS1029 is one of a new class of compounds that block IAP proteins from protecting cancer cells.HGS1029 will be studied both alone and in combination with other agents,such as mapatumumab.HGS will initiate and continue the clinical trials of these oncology therapies in 2011.
CEO Thomas H. Watkins announced these and other goals on January 10 at the 29th Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.Human Genome Sciences is based in Rockville,Maryland and has more than a billion dollars of cash and investments in its war chest.That is considered a lot for a young biotech concern such as Human Genome.
Human Genome Sciences(HGSI)

Key Committee Recommends Lupus Drug Approval

On November 16,a key Food and Drug Administration committee recommended approval of Benlysta,the Human Genome Sciences/GlaxoSmithKline drug for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus.
The Arthritis Advisory Committee,which made the recommendation,provides the FDA with independent expert advice on rheumatology drug products such as Benlysta.Its nonbinding recommendation normally carries a great deal of weight in the FDA's deliberations.
Benlysta is the first new treatment expressly for lupus in 50 years.The vote to recommend approval was hailed by patient advocates as a sign of hope.Benlysta is also the first in a new class of drugs,the BLys-specific inhibitors.
Since 2006,Human Genome and Glaxo have been developing Benlysta together,with Human Genome having lead responsibility for conducting Phase 3 trials.The companies will share equally in development costs,sales,marketing expenses and any profits pending final FDA approval.Analysts consider Benlysta a prospective blockbuster,worth billions of dollars.
Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disorder most common in black,Hispanic and Asian women.It causes the immune system to attack the body's own organs and tissues,resulting in effects ranging from joint pain to kidney damage.The disease is potentially life-threatening.Like another autoimmune disorder,multiple sclerosis,lupus is hard to diagnose and varies from patient to patient.
Human Genome is located in Rockville,Maryland,and Glaxo is based in London,England.
Human Genome Sciences(HGSI),GlaxoSmithKline(GSK)

Ground Broken For NCI

Ground was broken recently for a National Cancer Institute facility in Montgomery County,Maryland.Part of a Johns Hopkins University campus,the 200 million dollar project will consist of 575,000 square feet of office space over two connected buildings.It will house 2100 workers at completion in 2013,and is sited next to three JHU buildings already on Medical Center Drive.The buildings will be seven stories high and include retail space and a parking garage as well.
The project is part of the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center in the D.C. suburb of Rockville,Maryland.It will cover nine acres on the JHU campus,which is home to 16 biotech firms and serves 4,000 students and 450 faculty annually.The NCI facility supplements two others it currently occupies in Montgomery County.
Johns Hopkins University was the leading academic institution for total R&D spending in fiscal 2009 for the 31st consecutive year,according to the National Science Foundation.JHU spent 1.85 billion on medical,science and engineering research.
Johns Hopkins is spearheading a science city project in Montgomery County,Maryland.