NEW YORK – AstraZeneca on Monday said it has inked an exclusive license agreement with Shijiazhuang, China-based CSPC Pharmaceutical Group to develop an early-stage small molecule lipoprotein(a) disruptor.
Under the terms of the deal, AstraZeneca will pay $100 million upfront to access YS2302018, CSPC's oral Lp(a) disruptor currently in preclinical development as a lipid-lowering therapy for patients with dyslipidemia. CSPC is also eligible for up to $1.9 billion in further development and commercialization milestones, as well as tiered royalties should YS2302018 reach the market.
YS2302018 has been shown to prevent formation of Lp(a), a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Elevated levels of Lp(a) are a known risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and can be caused by genetic abnormalities. A number of drugmakers including Amgen, Eli Lilly, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and Silence Therapeutics are evaluating therapeutic candidates designed to lower Lp(a) in clinical trials. These companies are testing patients for high Lp(a) levels at baseline as a selection criteria in these studies.
AstraZeneca, headquartered in Cambridge, UK, sees promise in this small molecule's ability to treat a range of cardiovascular conditions either alone or in combination with other drugs, such as AstraZeneca's investigational PCSK9 inhibitor AZD0780.
"Given the scale of unmet need, with cardiovascular disease being a leading cause of death globally, advancing novel therapies that can be used alone or in combination to effectively address known risk factors and advance patient care is particularly important and a key part of our strategy," Sharon Barr, AstraZeneca's executive VP and head of biopharmaceuticals R&D, said in a statement.