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 AstraZeneca said in May that it was looking to find a partner for
its so-called BACE inhibitor drug called AZD3293, which is set to
enter late-stage Phase III clinical testing against Alzheimer's.
The decision by Lilly to buy into the project is an endorsement of
the science behind the new oral drug, given the U.S. drugmaker's
long history of trying to find an effective treatment for the
memory-robbing condition.
Lilly will pay AstraZeneca up to $500 million to share rights to the
drug, with the exact scale of payments depending on the medicine's
progress in clinical trials and its commercial success.
BACE inhibitor drugs work by blocking an enzyme called beta
secretase that is involved in production of beta-amyloid, a protein
that creates brain plaques considered a major cause of Alzheimer's.
They are viewed as a promising new approach and have taken centre
stage after an injectable class of medicines targeting beta-amyloid
plaque failed or fell short in trials conducted by Pfizer and Lilly.
Merck & Co is currently in the lead in the BACE inhibitor field,
with the first Phase III data from the U.S. company's programme
likely to emerge in around 2017.
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it expected to receive the first payment
of $50 million from Lilly in the first half of 2015, adding the deal
would have no impact on its 2014 earnings.
Most of the pipeline focus at AstraZeneca is on drugs for cancer,
diabetes, respiratory and cardiovascular disease, with neuroscience
projects - including Alzheimer's - no longer a core area for the
group.
$5 BILLION OR BUST?
AstraZeneca had flagged the potential of AZD3293 during its
successful fight against a $118 billion takeover bid by Pfizer.
A strategic defence document at the time said the BACE inhibitor
could potentially sell as much as $5 billion a year, though
AstraZeneca gave it only a 9 percent chance of success on a
risk-adjusted basis given the high failure rate in the Alzheimer's
research field.
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AstraZeneca and Lilly aim to move AZD3293 rapidly into a Phase
II/III clinical trial in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease.
Many experts believe that giving drugs early on could be the key to
successful treatment.
Lilly will take the lead on clinical development of the drug under
the new partnership, while AstraZeneca will be responsible for
manufacturing the product. The companies will be jointly responsible
for commercialisation.
They will share equally all costs for the development and
commercialisation of AZD3293, as well as net global revenues after
its launch.
Dementia - of which Alzheimer's disease is the most common form -
already affects 44 million people worldwide and this is set to reach
135 million by 2050, according to Alzheimer's Disease International,
a non-profit campaign group.
Unlike heart disease and cancer, no major advancements have been
seen in Alzheimer's drug research since the first treatment was
approved in 1993 by U.S. regulators.
Current Alzheimer's drugs, including generic forms of Pfizer's
Aricept, or donepezil, can minimally and briefly help memory and
ability to perform daily functions, but do not slow the disease.
(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter)
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