AstraZeneca enters into USD 402 million global licensing agreement with C4X Discovery Holdings

Under the terms of the agreement, C4XD will receive pre-clinical milestone payments worth up to $16 million ahead of the first clinical trial, including $2 million upfront. In addition, C4XD is eligible to receive a further potential $385.8 million in clinical development and commercial milestones and tiered mid-single digit royalties upon commercialisation.

Sir Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca said: "At AstraZeneca, we are committed to transforming care in respiratory and immune-mediated disease and move beyond symptom control. Our alliance with C4XD adds an important new asset to our portfolio to push the boundaries of science by targeting underlying disease drivers to potentially modify the course of these diseases."

Dr Clive Dix, CEO of C4XD, added: "Drug Discovery is inherently scientifically complex, and it is through our unique expertise and proprietary cutting-edge technologies that C4XD is yet again proving itself as an exemplar in this field. NRF2 is thought to be a critical but challenging anti-inflammatory target, and I am proud of the work by our team to achieve a broad stable of intellectual property for this programme, leading to our third significant deal with a truly world-renowned industry leader. The COPD market alone is worth close to $20 billion and rising. But, more importantly, I know that in AstraZeneca's hands, with their scientific, technical, and commercial expertise, our NRF2 Activator programme has the potential to deliver life-changing treatments for the millions of patients suffering with COPD across the world."

Inflammation is a key driver in many pathological conditions including respiratory diseases. NRF2 is an important natural regulator, controlling the expression of antioxidant genes, and it plays a key role in cellular defense against external insults, as well as the regulation of the inflammatory response. Targeting the NRF2 pathway to reduce inflammatory damage offers the potential for a new approach to treat a variety of inflammatory diseases such as COPD, where activation of NRF2 may help in reducing the negative effects of the oxidative stress-induced progression of the disease.. Lead molecules from C4XD's oral NRF2 Activator programme have been found to significantly activate NRF2 following oral dosing, providing anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity