AstraZeneca PLC on Monday entered into an exclusive license agreement with CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd to advance the development of an early stage, novel small molecule lipoprotein disruptor for patients with dyslipidaemia.
The Cambridge, England-based pharmaceutical company explained that dyslipidaemia patients suffer from elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein in the blood, a key risk factors for cardiovascular disease which is estimated to cause 2.6 million deaths worldwide each year.
‘Despite current treatment options, the global burden of dyslipidaemia is on the rise. More than 70% of patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease are still not achieving their [low-density lipoprotein cholesterol] target, so there remains a vast unmet need among high-risk patients for more varied and effective treatment options,’ AstraZeneca said.
AstraZeneca will be granted access to CSPC’s YS2302018 pre-clinical candidate small molecule oral lipoprotein disruptor, to aid the development of a therapy to treat a range of cardiovascular disease indications alone or in combination with other treatments.
For this access, AstraZeneca will make an upfront $100 million payment to CSPC, with the latter also eligible to receive a further $1.92 billion for development and commercialisation milestones alongside tiered royalties.
Head of BioPharmceuticals R&D Sharon Barr said: ‘This asset is an important addition to our cardiovascular pipeline and could help patients to more effectively manage their dyslipidaemia and related cardiometabolic diseases. Given the scale of unmet need, with cardiovascular disease being a leading cause of death globally, advancing novel therapies that can be used alone or in combination to effectively address known risk factors and advance patient care is particularly important and a key part of our strategy.’
On Monday, AstraZeneca also hailed positive trial results which demonstrated that Airsupra caused a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in the risk of severe exacerbation when used as an as-needed rescue medication in response to asthma symptoms compared to as-needed albuterol.
AstraZeneca shares were down 0.2% at 11,714.44 pence each in London on Monday morning.
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