(Bloomberg) -- AstraZeneca Plc is licensing a drug from China’s CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd that it hopes will treat high cholesterol, as the pharma company seeks to bolster its cardiovascular pipeline.
Under the terms of the deal, Astra will make an upfront payment to CSPC of $100 million for an exclusive licensing deal, according to a statement. The Chinese pharmaceutical group is also eligible to receive up to $1.92 billion for future development and commercialization milestones as well as royalties.
The small molecule drug is still in the early stages of development but Astra says it has shown potential to prevent the formation of lipoprotein (a). This lipoprotein plays an important role in the transport of cholesterol in the bloodstream. Astra hopes to use the drug for a range of cardiovascular diseases either as a standalone medicine or in combination with other molecules.
While bolstering Astra’s cancer portfolio has been the focus of Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot’s tenure, the company’s cardiovascular, renal and metabolic drugs are considered an important growth area. The company is also working on early-stage obesity assets that it aims to combine with other drugs in this portfolio as combination therapies.
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