AstraZeneca purchases neuroscience assets from Link Medicine

AstraZeneca has announced the acquisition of a portfolio of neuroscience assets from Link Medicine, focusing on the field of autophagy.

These multiple small molecule assets are currently in clinical and preclinical development and target the enzyme farnesyltransferase to modulate autophagy in order to combat conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

Autophagy is an intracellular process that clears and recycles mis-folded proteins, thus helping to restore the natural balance between the production and clearance of toxic protein aggregates.

This alliance will also provide AstraZeneca with the ability to share the costs, risks and rewards of research with its new partner.

Dr Menelas Pangalos, executive vice-president of innovative medicines at AstraZeneca, said: "This agreement provides us with an entry into an exciting and vital piece of research into autophagy – an area of considerable importance in neuroscience."

This comes in the same month that AstraZeneca announced the launch of Euclid, a new clinical trial assessing the efficacy of Brilinta among patients with peripheral artery disease.