AstraZeneca: New deal with Pozen strengthens pipeline

AstraZeneca has announced a new partnership with Pozen to develop a combination pain therapy that it says will strengthen its product pipeline, which has recently been a source of consternation among investors.

Following the abortion of the development of drugs like Galida, AstraZeneca has been left with five of its own drugs in late-stage development, some of which could conceivably fail to win approval from regulators.

However, in June the company announced a plan to increase its development output and the in-progress acquisition of Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT), as well as a partnership with Abbott to deliver a new cholesterol/blood pressure therapy, has improved the company’s short-medium term outlook.

The latest collaboration with Pozen will see the companies co-develop fixed dose combinations of naproxen and esmeprazole, with the help of Pozen’s formulation technology, to introduce a new therapy for chronic pain.

Phase III clinical trials are expected to begin during 2007 and AstraZeneca will pay Pozen $40 million (22.9 million pounds) upfront, with the possibility of a further $335 million based on reaching regulatory milestones and potential sales.

Dr John Patterson, executive director of development for AstraZeneca, commented: “This collaboration is further evidence of the progress we are making in strengthening our pipeline of new products.”

“We believe that the combination of esomeprazole and Pozen’s proprietary [formulation] technology has the potential to address one of the key unmet medical needs for patients with chronic pain – namely, good pain relief coupled to a low risk of gastrointestinal ulcers and good tolerability,” he added.

AstraZeneca currently has five products in phase III development, 33 compounds in phases I and II, and 41 in pre-clinical development, excluding CAT’s own products in development.

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