AstraZeneca signs up to $1bn deal with LEO Pharma

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced on Friday it has entered into agreements to support its strategic focus on three main therapy areas - respiratory, inflammation and autoimmunity; cardiovascular and metabolic disease; and oncology.

The FTSE 100 firm said the agreements include two of AstraZeneca’s potential new medicines for dermatitis and psoriasis, allowing the company to further simplify and sharpen focus on new medicines in the main therapy areas.

AstraZeneca said the first agreement is with LEO Pharma for the global licence to tralokinumab in skin diseases, with LEO making an upfront payment of $115m and up to $1bn in milestone and royalty payments.

“This agreement allows us to concentrate our efforts on tralokinumab's potential for patients with severe asthma, a priority area for AstraZeneca, while benefitting from LEO Pharma's expertise in dermatology for the continued development and commercialisation of tralokinumab in atopic dermatitis and other dermatology conditions,” said executive vice president global product and portfolio strategy Luke Miels.

AstraZeneca will manufacture and supply tralokinumab to LEO Pharma.

The second agreement sees AstraZeneca and Valeant Pharmaceuticals terminate the licence for brodalumab in Europe, with AstraZeneca entering into a new agreement with LEO Pharma for the region.

Valeant will continue to lead development and commercialisation of brodalumab in the US and other markets covered by a separate agreement in September 2015.

“These agreements allow us to capitalise on LEO's strong track record of bringing new dermatological treatments to patients in Europe, while enabling Valeant to focus on bringing brodalumab to market in the US and other key markets,” Miels said.

“We are confident that working with both partners, we can maximise the reach of this potential new medicine to help psoriasis patients across the globe.”

LEO Pharma president and CEO Gitte Aabo said the company has secured a unique position to help people with skin diseases.

“By expanding our portfolio to include both biologics and topicals, LEO Pharma is set to become the world dermatology leader - offering the most diverse range of treatment solutions to meet the individual needs of people with skin diseases,” Aabo explained.