AstraZeneca turns to CSPC Pharma again, raising $110 million to start multidrug R&D R&D PACT
Astrazeneca pre-paid $110 million to CSPC Pharmaceuticals Group to exploit AI-powered technology from China-based biotech to discover and develop new oral drugs.
The R&D agreement announced on Friday does not specify any targets or instructions. But AstraZeneca says the alliance includes a preclinical small molecule oral drug for immune diseases. This may be a key dosage advantage, as many immune drugs are required as biopharmaceuticals that are injected or infused.
Last year, AstraZeneca carefully studied the drug research capabilities of CSPC. Last October, the drug giant paid $100 million to license preclinical CSPC drugs developed for high cholesterol disease dyslipidemia, characterized by high levels of cholesterol transporter lipoprotein (A) or LP (A). LP(A) levels can already be reduced by biological and genetic drugs targeting proteins called PCSK9, but all of these products are administered by injection amounts. Oral dyslipidemia medications will provide AstraZeneca with a way to separate on site.
The new agreement with CSPC calls on both companies to jointly discover and develop preclinical drug candidates. CSPC will use its AI-powered drug discovery platform to conduct research at its factory in Shijiazhuang City, China. This technique analyzes the binding modes of target proteins and existing molecules.
Astrazeneca has obtained the right to exercise the right to choose to develop and commercialize drug candidates by collaborative drug candidates. If any of these molecules can reach the market, CSPC will line up to receive sales milestone payments of up to $3.6 billion, as well as royalties for product sales. Sharon Barr, executive vice president and head of R&D at Biopharmaceuticals, said in a prepared statement that the CSPC Cooperation Bureau highlighted the drug giant's commitment to chronic diseases.
“Building strong collaborations allows us to leverage complementary scientific expertise to support the rapid discovery of high-quality novel therapeutic molecules to deliver next-generation drugs,” Barr said.
The cooperation with CSPC is with AstraZeneca's presence in China. In March, the company announced that it would spend $2.5 billion over the next five years to build a new R&D center in Beijing. The planned facility will be the second place in China after the research center opened in Shanghai.
Photo: Christopher Furlong, Getty Images
