AstraZeneca signs $300 licensing deal with Targacept

AstraZeneca has announced that it has signed an exclusive global licensing and research collaboration agreement with Targacept for the development and commercialisation of Targacept’s phase II compound, TC-1734 to treat Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and other cognitive disorders.

The deal is reportedly worth $300 million (?172 million) and the four-year research collaboration also allows for the development of other compounds that act on neuronal nicotinic receptors (NNRs).

Under the agreement, which is subject to the expiration or termination of the HSR (Hart Scott Rodino) clearance period in the US, AstraZeneca will obtain the global rights for the development and commercialization of TC-1734 and any compounds that arise out of the research collaboration with the aim of developing differentiated treatments for treating cognitive decline, an area of high unmet medical need.

Upon effectiveness of the agreement, Targacept will receive an initial payment of $10 million from AstraZeneca and additional milestone payments of $20 million and approximately $26 million in research support payments over the four year period.

AstraZeneca said Alzheimer’s disease represents an area of huge medical need in the developed and developing world, causing great distress to patients and their carers and imposing a major financial and resource burden upon society, adding that current treatments have limited efficacy and significant side effects in many patients.

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