AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb sign diabetes agreement

AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb have this week announced that they have signed a partnership agreement for the development and commercialisation of two compounds being investigated as treatments for type two diabetes.

Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will pay Bristol-Myers Squibb an initial licence payment of $100 million (51.37 million pounds). Both compounds involved in the deal were originally discovered by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Additionally, AstraZeneca will pay Bristol-Myers Squibb further sums of up to $650 million upon reaching development and regulatory milestones and up to $300 million per product in sales royalties.

These compounds are a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, saxagliptin, currently undergoing phase III clinical studies and sodium-glucose cotransport-2 inhibitor, dapagliflozin, currently undergoing phase IIb clinical trials.

David Brennan, chief executive officer of AstraZeneca, said: “This deal represents a significant step in delivering our externalisation strategy as it gives us access to two strategically important late stage compounds in an area of high unmet medical need.”

He added that the companies’ combined knowledge in this field will have the potential of delivering drugs of medical benefit to patients.

In May 2006, AstraZeneca announced that it was to discontinue its development of Galida, a compound in phase III development for the treatment of abnormalities related to type two diabetes.