Unigene Laboratories has entered into a development services and clinical supply agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), as part of an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement.

Under the agreement, Unigene will receive up to $2.2m in payments from GSK to conduct certain development and manufacturing activities.

The activities are related to the active pharmaceutical ingredient and finished drug product for an oral formulation of a recombinantly produced investigational parathyroid hormone (PTH) analogue to treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women in advance of GSK’s potential decision to study the molecule in a Phase 3 programme.

Unigene’s oral PTH is currently in a Phase 2 study and the results are expected before the year’s end.