11th Jan 2007 12:00
AstraZeneca PLC11 January 2007 AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb Announce Worldwide Collaboration To DevelopAnd Commercialise Diabetes Compounds Deal A Significant Step In Strengthening AstraZeneca's Late Stage Pipeline Partnership Aligned with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Strategy AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) ("companies") todayannounced a collaboration to develop and commercialise two investigationalcompounds being studied for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Both compoundswere discovered by Bristol-Myers Squibb. Saxagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, is currently in PhaseIII development. Upon successful completion of the development programme, thecompanies plan to file for U.S. regulatory approval of saxagliptin during thefirst half of 2008. Dapagliflozin (previously referred to as BMS-512148), asodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, is currently in Phase IIbdevelopment. The collaboration on these compounds is worldwide, except forJapan. Should either party develop additional DPP-4 or SGLT2 compounds, theother company can elect to add those compounds to the collaboration. Terms of the agreements include an upfront payment of $100 million byAstraZeneca to Bristol-Myers Squibb. The companies have agreed upon initialdevelopment plans for the two compounds. From 2007 through 2009, the majorityof development costs will be funded by AstraZeneca. Any additional developmentcosts will be shared equally. In aggregate, this sharing of R&D cost isexpected to increase AstraZeneca's R&D to sales ratio in 2007 by around 0.5percent and in 2008 by approximately 1 percent. Bristol-Myers Squibb may also receive additional payments of up to $650 millionbased on development and regulatory milestones for the two compounds. Inaddition, potential sales milestones up to $300 million per product are alsopossible. The companies will jointly develop the clinical and marketingstrategy of the compounds, and post-launch will share commercialisation expensesand profits/losses equally on a global basis, excluding Japan. Bristol-MyersSquibb will manufacture both products and book sales. David Brennan, Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca said, "Diabetes is adisease reaching almost epidemic proportions in many regions throughout theworld and is a particular area of scientific interest for AstraZeneca. Thisdeal represents a significant step in delivering our externalisation strategy asit gives us access to two strategically important late stage compounds in anarea of high unmet medical need. We believe that Bristol-Myers Squibb'srecognised contributions to diabetes research will complement our existingstrengths. Additionally, our combined expertise will develop new areas ofopportunity for both companies and the potential to bring real medical benefitto the wider community." "This collaboration provides Bristol-Myers Squibb the opportunity to maximizeour primary care assets, and it is aligned with our corporate strategy toconcentrate R&D efforts on serious diseases such as diabetes while maintainingcommercial focus on specialists and high prescribing primary care physicians,"said Jim Cornelius, Chief Executive Officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb. "Bristol-Myers Squibb has a strong legacy in treating Type 2 diabetes andcardiovascular disease, and we look forward to leveraging the combined expertiseof our company and AstraZeneca to further develop and commercialise thesecompounds." About Diabetes Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly useinsulin. Insulin is a hormone needed to carry glucose (sugar) from the bloodinto cells, where it is converted to energy the cells need to perform properly.When insulin is not present or does not function correctly, the result is highlevels of glucose in the blood. Over time, high blood glucose levels can leadto complications in the eyes, kidneys, central nervous system or heart. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, accounting forapproximately 90-95 percent of diabetes cases. Having Type 2 diabetes increasesthe risk of many serious complications, including heart disease or stroke, highblood pressure, amputation (particularly legs), blindness, nerve damage, andkidney failure. The risk of stroke and the rate of deaths due to heart diseaseare two to four times higher among people with diabetes, while about 65 percentof deaths among people with diabetes are due to heart disease and stroke. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) estimates that more than 20 millionpeople in the United States, or 7 percent of the population, have diabetes, andthat one in three Americans born in 2000 will develop diabetes sometime duringtheir lifetime. There are currently more than 230 million people living withdiabetes worldwide. The objective of treating diabetes is to control bloodglucose to as normal a level as possible. This can be accomplished by acombination of diet, exercise and medication. About Saxagliptin and Dapagliflozin Saxagliptin is a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, a new class ofdiabetes medicines that work by increasing and prolonging the action of naturalhormones in the body called incretins. Incretins decrease blood sugar byincreasing consumption of sugar by the body, mainly through increasing insulinproduction in the pancreas, and by reducing production of sugar by the liver.By enhancing the effect of active incretin hormones in the body, DPP-4inhibitors improve timely insulin release and ultimately decrease high bloodsugar levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Dapagliflozin is a sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor. The SGLT2transporter protein is located only in the kidney, where it normally reabsorbsglucose from urine while waste products are filtered out. Patients with Type 2diabetes continue to reabsorb glucose from the urine, even though this processcontributes to high blood glucose levels, or hyperglycemia. Dapagliflozin has anovel mechanism of action that blocks re-absorption of glucose from urine inpatients with Type 2 diabetes. Inhibiting SGLT2 activity decreasesre-absorption of glucose by the kidney, helping to improve glucose control inpatients with Type 2 diabetes. About AstraZeneca AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in theresearch, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticalsand the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world's leadingpharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $23.95 billion and leadingpositions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience,respiratory, oncology and infection products. AstraZeneca is listed in the DowJones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4 Good Index. AZ hasover 40 years experience in cardiovascular medicine, with a powerful range ofproducts including Atacand, a hypertension medication, Seloken ZOK, a leader inits class of beta blockers and CRESTOR, for the treatment of high cholesterollevels. About Bristol-Myers Squibb Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global pharmaceutical and related healthcare productscompany whose mission is to extend and enhance human life. 11 January, 2007 AstraZeneca Contacts: Media Enquiries: Edel McCaffrey, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5034 Steve Brown, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5033 Investor Relations: Mina Blair, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5084 Jonathan Hunt, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5087 Jorgen Winroth, Tel: +1 (212) 579 0506 Ed Seage, Tel: +1 302 886 4065 Bristol-Myers Squibb Contacts: Media Enquiries: Jeff Macdonald, Tel: +1 212 546 4824 Tony Plohoros, Tel: +1 609 252 7938 Investor Relations: John Elicker, Tel: +1 212 546 3775 Blaine Davis, Tel: +1 609 252 7445 -Ends- This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Astrazeneca