Dive Brief:
- AstraZeneca has entered a deal with Synairgen to buy the rights to SNG001, an investigational drug being developed for the treatment of viral infections in patients with asthma.
- The $232 million deal includes an upfront payment of $7.25 million, with an additional $225 million in milestone and regulatory payments.
- SNG001 is moving into phase IIa trials. If it is approved it will be an addition to AZ’s strong respiratory portfolio.
Dive Insight:
Respiratory viruses are common among people with asthma, especially children. They also increase the risk of asthma exacerbations. By acquiring rights to SNG001, AstraZeneca could augment an already strong respiratory portfolio, which includes drugs being developed to treat the symptoms of asthma and COPD, as well as an asthma medication delivery device.
In April, AstraZeneca updated its pipeline on its company website. The company currently has six drugs in phase III development for various respiratory indications, including severe asthma, chronic treatment of patients with gout, COPD, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis. The company plans to file NDAs for these drugs in the US and the EU between 2014 and 2016. It will also file in China for the gout drug in 2017.
Positive phase II data on one of these drugs, brodolumab, which is being developed for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis, has just been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The data shows that brodolumab significantly improves the signs and clinical symptoms associated with psoriatic arthritis, including tender and swollen joints, at 12 weeks. In this 52-week study, many patients continued to improve throughout the entire study period.