At the start of November 2005, Theravance entered into its third ever major licensing agreement, this time with Japanese drugs corporation Astellas. Although its previous alliances have been in the respiratory area, in this instance, Theravance is seeking to exploit the anti-infectives side of its business, as the deal covers the development and commercialisation of its investigational Phase III antibiotic telavancin (injectable lipoglycopeptide). Astellas also gains an option to commercialise and further develop TD-1792, the other compound in Theravance's antibiotics research programme, in this its first major agreement since it was formed.