Date: 2016-12-19
Type of information: Milestone
Compound: antisense therapies for cardiovascular, metabolic and renal diseases
Company: AstraZeneca (UK) Ionis Pharmaceuticals (USA - CA)
Therapeutic area: Cardiovascular diseases - Metabolic diseases - Renal diseases
Type agreement: collaboration
Action mechanism: antisense oligonucleotide
Disease: cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, renal diseases
Details: * On September 11, 2015, Isis Pharmaceuticals, now Ionis Pharmaceuticals announced that its collaboration with AstraZeneca to discover and develop antisense drugs for cardiovascular, metabolic and renal diseases has received clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. * On August 3, 2015, Isis Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca announced a strategic collaboration to discover and develop antisense therapies for cardiovascular, metabolic and renal diseases. The new collaboration builds on a broad existing relationship between the two companies and supports AstraZeneca's strategic approach in these therapeutic areas using novel RNA-targeted treatments. It also enables Isis Pharmaceuticals to extend use of its antisense technology to targets in the kidney. This transaction is subject to clearances under the Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improveme nts Act.
Financial terms: AstraZeneca will pay an upfront fee of $65 million to Isis Pharmaceuticals plus development and regulatory milestones for each program that AstraZeneca advances to clinical development. Isis Pharmaceuticals is also eligible to earn tiered double-digit royalties on annual net sales for each program.
Latest news: * On December 19, 2016, Ionis Pharmaceuticals announced that it has advanced its lead drug candidate IONIS-AZ4-2.5-LRx, which has now been renamed AZD8233, into preclinical development. AZD8233 is designed to inhibit an undisclosed target to treat cardiovascular disease and is also the first of a new class of antisense drugs that uses both Ionis' proprietary Generation 2.5 chemistry and its LIgand Conjugated Antisense or LICA technology. In conjunction with this milestone, Ionis earned a $25 million milestone payment from AstraZeneca. As AZD8233 advances in development, Ionis will be eligible to receive up to $300 million in additional development and regulatory milestone payments as well as tiered, low double-digit royalties from sales of the drug. AstraZeneca will be responsible for further developing and commercializing AZD8233.
