AstraZeneca has signed a commercial tie-up with Japanese drugs company Takeda, under which the two companies will jointly develop the antibody therapy MEDI1341 for degenerative neurological conditions including Parkinson’s.

It will enter phase one clinical trials later this year.

Under the terms of  deal, worth up to £309m that Taked will pay to AstraZeneca, the firms will equally share future development and commercialisation costs, as well as any future revenues.

AstraZeneca will work on phase one development of MEDI1341, while Takeda will lead on future clinical development.

Mene Pangalos, executive vice president at AstraZeneca said about this last deal: “By combining our scientific expertise and sharing the risks and cost of development, we hope to accelerate the advancement of MEDI1341 as a promising new approach to support the treatment of people with Parkinson’s disease around the world.”

This is just one the ast deal signed by AstraZeneca in the last few months to raise funds for its core areas, including selling the commercial rights to migraine treatment Zomig and beta-blocker Seloken, worth in total £450m.

AstraZeneca has also signed an agreement with Berg  to use artificial intelligence in the search for Parkinson’s disease treatments. Read the news here

Source: The Telegraph