July 2 (Reuters) – AstraZeneca has entered into a deal worth up to $1.77 billion with CSPC Pharmaceutical Group to discover and develop experimental medicines with the potential to treat kidney diseases, the Chinese drugmaker said on Thursday.
CSPC’s Hong Kong stock exchange filing did not disclose the specific diseases the medicines would target. The World Health Organization says an estimated 674 million people worldwide have chronic kidney disease, which progresses gradually.
• AstraZeneca will have the option to obtain exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise one preclinical small nucleic acid drug candidate globally, and a second outside China
• CSPC is eligible to receive $30 million as an upfront payment and up to about $1.74 billion in additional payments tied to development and sales-related milestones
• AstraZeneca has previously entered into collaborations with CSPC, including on obesity and weight-related conditions
• AstraZeneca declined to comment on what diseases would be targeted under the new CSPC deal
(Reporting by Andrew Silver in Shanghai and Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexander Smith)
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