GlaxoSmithKline begins payments to Synta for development on elesclomol

LEXINGTON, Mass. A Massachusetts biotech company has received a milestone payment from GlaxoSmithKline for the drug elesclomol.

Synta Pharmaceuticals announced Friday that it received $15 million from GSK for the drug, which the two are developing as a possible treatment for cancer.

Synta is eligible for a total of $585 million in milestone payments, though the drug is still in clinical trials, being administered with a chemotherapy drug to patients with melanoma.