AstraZeneca has paid $7.25 million up-front with potential milestone payments of up to $225 million for a global licence from Synairgen for its SNG001 inhaled interferon beta for the treatment of viral respiratory tract infections in severe asthma patients. The agreement also includes royalties “ranging from single-digit up to mid-teens” for commercial sales, and AstraZeneca will take over responsibility for development costs.
The company announced a planned Phase 2a study to being in the first part of 2015. In 2012, Synairgen announced positive results from an earlier Phase 2 study of the product in asthma patients.
Synairgen CEO Richard Marsden said, “We’re delighted that this truly innovative program, discovered at the University of Southampton and developed by Synairgen, will be taken forward by AstraZeneca. With its strong research focus and extensive experience in respiratory disease, AstraZeneca’s commitment to developing novel medicines for patients with asthma and COPD makes them the ideal partner for SNG001.”
AstraZeneca Head of Respiratory, Inflammation & Autoimmune Innovative Medicines Maarten Kraan commented, “Respiratory disease is a core therapeutic area for AstraZeneca, and a key growth platform for the company. Our approach includes addressing associated complications that patients experience, as well as developing treatments for the underlying disease. SNG001 is an innovative and targeted therapy that has, if successful, the potential to offer a step-change in the treatment of severe asthma, and possibly COPD.”
Read the AstraZeneca press release.
