AstraZeneca signs COPD deal with UK firm

AstraZeneca has announced that it has signed a discovery partnership with UK-based company Argenta Discovery for the identification of improved bronchodilators for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will pay Argenta Discovery an initial fee of $21 million (10.7 million pounds) with additional research funding and milestone payments.

These payments will value a potential total of approximately $500 million, with further royalty payments made by AstraZeneca upon reaching specific sales landmarks.

The companies will partner to identify long acting muscarinic antagonist beta-2 agonist candidate drugs, with these drugs developed into therapies dependent on decisions made by AstraZeneca, who will be responsible for the development of these therapies.

Claude Bertrand, vice president of respiratory and inflammation research at AstraZeneca, said: “Argenta has an innovative strategy in terms of developing new respiratory medicines, which we hope will expand AstraZeneca’s strong position in the respiratory disease field.”

He added that compelling reasons for the collaboration with Argenta include the breadth of the pre-clinical product portfolio and its purposeful approach to drug discovery.

Respiratory pharmaceuticals currently in AstraZeneca’s product portfolio include Symbicort, a combination of buedesonide and formoterol delivered by powder inhaler.