AstraZeneca pays Palatin for obesity treatment research

AstraZeneca has paid a sum of $2.5 million (1.7 million pounds) to Palatin Technologies as part of an ongoing research collaboration relating to obesity treatments.

The two companies are currently participating in an initiative to discover and commercialise compounds targeting melanocortin receptors, which have been identified as a means of combating obesity and related conditions.

This latest payment comes as part of an amendment to the collaboration agreed last September and pertains to Palatin’s successful achievement of certain milestones in the most recent quarter.

It comes in addition to an initial $2.5 million payment awarded to Palatin by AstraZeneca upon the signing of the amendment itself.

Earlier this week, AstraZeneca agreed to sell its marketing and distribution rights for the antiviral treatment Foscavir to fellow pharmaceuticals firm Clinigen.

This deal will affect all territories worldwide apart from Japan, although Clinigen hopes to extend the agreement to cover the Asian nation at some point in the future.