Date: 2015-05-13
Type of information: Development agreement
Compound: companion diagnostic tests for tralokinumab
Company: Abbott (USA - IL) AstraZeneca (UK
Therapeutic area: Allergic diseases - Inflammatory diseases - Respiratory diseases
Type agreement: development
Action mechanism:
Disease: asthma
Details: * On May 13, 2015, AstraZeneca announced that it has entered an agreement with Abbott to develop companion diagnostic tests to identify patients with severe asthma who are most likely to benefit from tralokinumab. To date, no companion diagnostic blood tests have been approved for use in asthma. Under the terms of the agreement, Abbott will develop and commercialise diagnostic tests to measure serum levels of the proteins periostin and DPP4 (dipeptidyl peptidase-4), which have been identified as potential predictive biomarkers of up-regulated IL-13 in severe asthma. The tests will be developed in conjunction with AstraZeneca’s Phase III trial of tralokinumab, a potential treatment for patients with severe, inadequately controlled asthma, developed by the company’s biologics research and development arm, MedImmune. Periostin has been previously described as a potential biomarker for asthma1, and DPP4 is a novel and promising predictive biomarker identified by MedImmune. The tralokinumab Phase III programme will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of tralokinumab in reducing the rate of asthma exacerbations in adults and adolescents with severe, inadequately controlled asthma despite receiving inhaled corticosteroids plus long-acting β2-agonist. The programme will also assess the effect of tralokinumab on lung function, patient-reported asthma symptoms and quality of life, as well as investigate whether serum periostin or DPP4 could identify patients who are most likely to benefit from tralokinumab.
Financial terms:
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