AstraZeneca and CSPC Pharmaceuticals Forge $5.2 Billion AI-Driven Partnership for Chronic Disease Research

AstraZeneca signs $5.2bn deal to develop drugs for chronic disease with Chinese biotech

AstraZeneca has signed a deal worth up to $5.2bn to work with a Chinese biotech company using AI to develop new treatments for chronic diseases. The drugmaker will collaborate with CSPC Pharmaceuticals on several drugs including a pill to treat immunological diseases. CSPC will receive $110mn upfront and will be eligible for payments based on development milestones of up to $1.6bn and sales milestones of up to $3.6bn. Sharon Barr, who leads AstraZeneca's biopharmaceuticals research and development, said the partnership would support the "rapid discovery of high quality novel therapeutic molecules". The deal comes as AstraZeneca increases its investment in China, as it tries to move on from a scandal that led to the detention of its top executive in the country. Chinese authorities have been scrutinising the company's oncology business and, in October, detained Leon Wang, who oversaw the China business in his former role as executive vice-president of the international region. AstraZeneca is one of many drugmakers signing deals with Chinese biotechs, often for the rights to develop and sell medicines outside China. Earlier this year, it announced a plan to invest $2.5bn in the country, including on a new R&D centre and on partnerships with start-ups working on antibodies and vaccines for respiratory and other infectious diseases. In 2023, it acquired the global rights to a next generation obesity drug in a $2bn deal with China's Eccogene. CSPC is already working with AstraZeneca on an early stage drug candidate for cardiovascular disease, in an up to $2bn deal announced last year. The latest deal gives AstraZeneca access to CSPC's AI platform for discovering and optimising drugs, with the aim of speeding up a time-consuming and laborious process and reducing failure rates. Like many pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca already uses AI for drug discovery, including to search through huge databases of chemical compounds to find promising candidates that can be developed into treatments. It can also be used to suggest adaptations to existing drugs to make them more effective and cause fewer side effects. The drugmaker has recently signed a $200mn partnership with US companies Tempus and Pathos AI to build a model to find new cancer drugs, and has been working with partners to use AI to improve clinical trials in oncology and lung cancer screening.

AstraZeneca signs AI research deal with China's CSPC for chronic diseases

Under Friday's agreement, the two companies will collaborate to discover and develop pre-clinical candidates, including a small molecule oral therapy for immunological diseases, with CSPC conducting AI-driven research in Shijiazhuang City. "This strategic research collaboration underscores our commitment to innovation to tackle chronic diseases which impact over two billion people globally," AstraZeneca executive Sharon Barr said in a statement.AstraZeneca has signed an AI-led research agreement with China's CSPC Pharmaceutical Group worth up to $5.3 billion, which would help the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker develop therapies for chronic conditions, it said on Friday. The deal marks the latest effort by AstraZeneca to revive its business in China, its second-biggest market, where it has faced several challenges including the arrest of its China president last year and potential fines related to imports. Under Friday's agreement, the two companies will collaborate to discover and develop pre-clinical candidates, including a small molecule oral therapy for immunological diseases, with CSPC conducting AI-driven research in Shijiazhuang City. "This strategic research collaboration underscores our commitment to innovation to tackle chronic diseases which impact over two billion people globally," AstraZeneca executive Sharon Barr said in a statement. Friday's agreement follows AstraZeneca's announcement in March that it will invest $2.5 billion in a R&D hub in Beijing, and it also marks further investment in AI following collaborations with Immunai, Qure.ai and Tempus AI. AstraZeneca will pay CSPC an upfront fee of $110 million. The Hong Kong-listed firm is also eligible to receive up to $1.62 billion for reaching development milestones and $3.6 billion linked to sales-related milestones, the groups said in separate statements. They signed a licensing deal last October in which AstraZeneca agreed to pay up to $1.92 billion to CSPC to develop a candidate which would boost its cardiovascular pipeline. AstraZeneca and CSPC both have wide-ranging pipeline portfolios, including cancer treatments and those targeting cardiovascular diseases. However, about 80% of CSPC's total revenue comes from its finished drug segment, according Morningstar analysts. The Chinese group said last month it was in negotiations with third parties on new licensing and collaboration. Friday's agreement also gives AstraZeneca the rights to exercise options for exclusive licenses for candidates identified as part of the collaboration.

AstraZeneca Inks Research Pact With China's CSPC Pharmaceuticals Focused On AI-Driven Research, Valued Up To $5.33 Billion - AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN)

On Friday, AstraZeneca Plc AZN entered a strategic research collaboration with Shijiazhuang City-based CSPC Pharmaceuticals Group Limited. Per the agreement, AstraZeneca and CSPC agree to discover and develop preclinical candidates for multiple targets with the potential to treat diseases across chronic indications, including a preclinical small molecule oral therapy for immunological diseases. Financial Considerations CSPC will receive an upfront payment of $110 million and is also eligible to receive up to $1.62 billion in potential development milestone payments and up to $3.6 billion in sales milestone payments, plus potential single-digit royalties based on annual net sales of the products. Under the agreement, AstraZeneca will have the right to exercise options for exclusive licenses to develop and commercialize worldwide candidates identified under this agreement. Also Read: AstraZeneca Highlights Significant Gains Across Three Major Cancer Trials At ASCO CSPC will conduct research in Shijiazhuang City, utilizing its AI-driven, dual-engine efficient drug discovery platform. This platform uses AI technology to analyze the binding patterns of target proteins with existing compound molecules and conduct targeted optimization to select highly effective small molecules with excellent developability. The collaboration furthers AstraZeneca's presence in China following the $2.5 billion investment in Beijing announced earlier this year and strengthens the ongoing collaboration with CSPC. In March, the European pharma giant said the investment over the next five years is part of a strategic partnership with the Beijing Municipal Government and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Administrative Office, which includes agreements with three biotechs and follows the recent Fibrogen announcement. AstraZeneca expects its Beijing workforce to grow to 1,700 employees. In October 2024, AstraZeneca entered into an exclusive license agreement with CSPC Pharmaceutical to advance the development of an early-stage, novel small molecule Lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) disruptor for dyslipidemia, a condition characterized by abnormal levels of lipids (fats) in the blood. It's a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke. Under the agreement, AstraZeneca received access to CSPC's preclinical candidate small molecule, YS2302018, as a lipid-lowering therapy with potential in a range of cardiovascular disease indications alone or in combination, including with the oral small molecule PCSK9 inhibitor AZD0780. CSPC received an upfront payment of $100 million from AstraZeneca and is also eligible to receive up to $1.92 billion for further development and commercialization milestones, plus tiered royalties. Price Action: At the last check on Friday, AZN stock was down 0.53% to $74.60 during the premarket session. Read Next: BioNTech Expands mRNA Cancer Portfolio With CureVac $1.25 Billion All-Stock Deal Photo: Shutterstock AZNAstraZeneca PLC$74.57-0.57%Stock Score Locked: Edge Members Only Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Unlock RankingsEdge RankingsMomentum49.93Growth82.14Quality65.88Value21.36Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewMarket News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

AstraZeneca Enters Strategic Collaboration with CSPC Pharmaceuticals Group Limited

AstraZeneca has entered a strategic research collaboration with Shijiazhuang City-based CSPC Pharmaceuticals Group Limited. Working together on high priority targets, the collaboration aims to advance the discovery and development of novel oral candidates, with the potential to treat diseases across multiple indications. Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca and CSPC agree to discover and develop pre-clinical candidates for multiple targets with the potential to treat diseases over chronic indications, including a pre-clinical small molecule oral therapy for immunological diseases. The research will be carried out by CSPC, in Shijiazhuang City and will utilise their AI-driven, dual-engine efficient drug discovery platform. This platform uses AI technology to analyse the binding patterns of target proteins with existing compound molecules, conduct targeted optimization, with the aim of selecting highly effective small molecules with excellent developability.

AstraZeneca signs AI research deal with China's CSPC for chronic diseases

(Reuters) -AstraZeneca has signed an AI-led research agreement with China's CSPC Pharmaceutical Group worth up to $5.3 billion, which would help the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker develop therapies for chronic conditions, it said on Friday. The deal marks the latest effort by AstraZeneca to revive its business in China, its second-biggest market, where it has faced several challenges including the arrest of its China president last year and potential fines related to imports. Under Friday's agreement, the two companies will collaborate to discover and develop pre-clinical candidates, including a small molecule oral therapy for immunological diseases, with CSPC conducting AI-driven research in Shijiazhuang City. "This strategic research collaboration underscores our commitment to innovation to tackle chronic diseases which impact over two billion people globally," AstraZeneca executive Sharon Barr said in a statement. Friday's agreement follows AstraZeneca's announcement in March that it will invest $2.5 billion in a R&D hub in Beijing, and it also marks further investment in AI following collaborations with Immunai, Qure.ai and Tempus AI. AstraZeneca will pay CSPC an upfront fee of $110 million. The Hong Kong-listed firm is also eligible to receive up to $1.62 billion for reaching development milestones and $3.6 billion linked to sales-related milestones, the groups said in separate statements. They signed a licensing deal last October in which AstraZeneca agreed to pay up to $1.92 billion to CSPC to develop a candidate which would boost its cardiovascular pipeline. AstraZeneca and CSPC both have wide-ranging pipeline portfolios, including cancer treatments and those targeting cardiovascular diseases. However, about 80% of CSPC's total revenue comes from its finished drug segment, according Morningstar analysts. The Chinese group said last month it was in negotiations with third parties on new licensing and collaboration. Friday's agreement also gives AstraZeneca the rights to exercise options for exclusive licenses for candidates identified as part of the collaboration. (Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru and Andrew Silver in Shanghai; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Tomasz Janowski)