AstraZeneca and Lilly to ally on Alzheimer’s drug development

AstraZeneca has agreed to partner with Lilly to develop and commercialise AZD3293, a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

The oral beta secretase cleaving enzyme inhibitor has been shown in phase I studies to significantly and dose-dependently reduce levels of amyloid beta in the cerebrospinal fluid of Alzheimer's patients and healthy volunteers.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly will pay AstraZeneca up to $500 million (308.99 million pounds) in development and regulatory milestone payments, with an initial milestone fee of $50 million to be paid in the first half of 2015.

Lilly will lead clinical development, working with researchers from AstraZeneca’s Innovative Medicines Unit for neuroscience, while the latter company will take charge of manufacturing. The drug will eventually be commercialised by both organisations.

Mene Pangalos, executive vice-president for innovative medicines and early development at AstraZeneca, said: "We are looking forward to working with Lilly, an organisation with a long-term commitment to and expertise in treating Alzheimer's disease."

This comes after the firm allied with Illumina last month to develop a next-generation gene sequencing panel that will aid the creation of companion diagnostic tests for cancer drugs.