In AstraZeneca’s third trip to Asia this year, the pharma secured ex-China rights to a dual inhibitor of PDE3 and PDE4, which in a Phase 2b study significantly improved lung function and lowered symptom burden in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.
AstraZeneca has gone on another excursion to Asia, this time enlisting Sino Biopharmaceutical for a global licensing deal to address a chronic respiratory disorder.
The pharma is paying $200 million upfront and offering up to $1.9 billion total when including development, regulatory and sales milestones, according to a securities filing on Tuesday evening. The Hong Kong–based collaborator will also be eligible to receive tiered royalties reaching up to double-digit percentages of annual net sales.
The centerpiece of the deal is TQC3721, an investigational inhibitor of the PDE3 and PDE4 enzymes, which are involved in constricting and driving inflammation in the airways. By blocking these two molecules, TQC3721 “is designed to deliver synergistic bronchodilatory and anti-inflammatory effects,” Sino Biopharm said in its announcement.
This mechanism, in turn, gives TQC3721 “potential best-in-class characteristics” for respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the biotech continued. Sino Biopharm is developing the COPD candidate in China. Phase 2b data published last month showed that nebulized TQC3721 significantly improved lung function as compared with placebo at four weeks. The drug also significantly eased COPD symptoms.
A nebulized formulation of TQC3721 is undergoing late-stage assessments in China, while a dry powder inhaler version is in Phase 2.
Tuesday’s agreement will give AstraZeneca the exclusive license to develop, produce and commercialize TQC3721 outside of China, though it remains unclear what specific indication the pharma plans to work on.
For Sino Biopharm, the deal marks the company’s third partnership penned with a Big Pharma this year. On Wednesday, Sino Biopharm said it was expanding a May deal made with GSK, securing commercialization rights in China to the pharma’s respiratory products Anoro Ellipta and Trelegy Ellipta—both of which are used to treat COPD. Earlier, in February, Sanofi paid $135 million upfront for global rights to Sino Biopharm’s oral JAK/ROCK blocker, with over a billion dollars in potential milestone payments on the line.
As for AstraZeneca, the partnership builds on its recent dealmaking in the region. Last week, the pharma made another trip to Asia and paid $30 million to ink a new contract with the CSPC Pharmaceutical Group. AstraZeneca looks to leverage the Chinese biotech’s AI-driven siRNA engine and targeted delivery platform to target kidney diseases. AstraZeneca is on the hook for up to $540 million in development milestones and up to $1.2 billion in sales-triggered payouts.
AstraZeneca also partnered with CSPC in January, committing $1.2 billion upfront for an obesity asset and three other preclinical therapies, and then again last month with a $110-million outlay for oral drugs targeting chronic diseases.
Also on Tuesday, AstraZeneca partnered with California’s genomics specialist Helix, gaining access to the biotech’s longitudinal clinical data repositories, meant to accelerate research and development. No financial details were disclosed.
