Glaxo selects Exelixis cancer drug for development

LONDON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has opted to license Exelixis Inc's (EXEL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) experimental cancer drug XL880 for further development and commercialisation, it said on Friday.

The move entitles Exelixis to a milestone of $35 million and additional payments upon the attainment of specific development and commercialisation goals. The $35 million milestone will be applied to repayment of an advance that Glaxo paid to Exelixis in 2005.

XL880, a small-molecule drug, is in Phase II trials in patients with papillary renal cell carcinoma, gastric cancer, and head and neck cancer. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler)