Simmons & Simmons has advised Danish biotech company Genmab on its £1.1bn licensing deal with drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in one of the largest ever commercial agreements in the life sciences sector.

Simmons head of intellectual property Richard Binns advised longstanding client Genmab on its deal with GSK to co-develop an antibody product and release it to the market. The product could potentially be used in the treatment of certain cancers and rheumatoid arthritis.

Both Genmab and GSK are Simmons clients, meaning the firm had to get permission from GSK to act for Genmab on this occasion.

Under the terms of the agreement, Genmab will receive a licence fee of £52m and GSK will invest £183m in Genmab. The companies estimate that the overall deal could be worth as much as £1.1bn.

Binns told Legal Week: "This is very typical of the type of deal that is around at the moment. Increasingly big pharma is looking to smaller biotech companies to supplement its pipeline. Life sciences is a real hot area for us at the moment, and we act for 15 out of the 20 major global pharma companies."

Genmab's product works by binding with blood cells associated with certain cancer groups, including leukaemias, and causes the body's natural defences to destroy them.
GSK was advised in-house by vice president and associate general counsel Carol Ashe. The agreement is subject to review under US competition law.

Simmons has previously advised GSK on litigation relating to the patents for anti-depressant Seroxat and asthma treatment Seretide – two of GSK's biggest selling products.
Other clients Simmons represents in the pharmaceuticals sector include Sanofi-Aventis, Schering, Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals and Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare.