Christian Hogg, CEO of Chi-Med, says, "We are very muchlooking forward to collaborating with AstraZeneca around Volitinib. Ourcollaboration will support the development and commercialization of this noveloncology innovation, discovered in China, to the global market on anaccelerated basis, something we could not have done alone."
The lucrative deal seeks to bolster AstraZeneca's pipeline,which has been hit by generic drug competition and pricing pressure. In fact,this current agreement comes on the heels of decisions made not to progressAstraZeneca's investigational compound olaparib into Phase III development forthe maintenance treatment of serous ovarian cancer. That decision followed areview of an interim analysis of a Phase II study that indicated the previouslyreported progression-free survival benefit is unlikely to translate into anoverall survival benefit.
The company also canceled the second RENAISSANCE Phase IIIstudy of TC-5214 for patients with major depressive disorder because it did notmeet its primary endpoint. AstraZeneca, however, will continue with the developmentof the two remaining fixed-dose Phase III RENAISSANCE efficacy and tolerabilitystudies and one long-term safety study.
AstraZeneca is the largest multinational pharmaceuticalcompany in the prescription market in China. The company employs approximately5,000 staff working in manufacturing, sales and marketing, clinical researchand new product development at the company's headquarters in Shanghai andacross sites in mainland China and Hong Kong.
AstraZeneca acquiresChinese generics company
CONGHUA CITY, China—AstraZeneca PLC also recently announcedits acquisition of Guangdong BeiKang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., a privately ownedgenerics manufacturing company based here.
AstraZeneca says the deal will give the pharma access to aportfolio of injectable medicines used to treat infections, which it will makeavailable to patients in China. Following completion of the acquisition,AstraZeneca will be responsible for the manufacture and commercialization of thesemedicines.
The acquisition is contingent on the approval of certainregulatory authorities, including the approval of the Ministry of Commerce inChina. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012.Financial terms were not disclosed.
Since first establishing a presence in China in 1993,AstraZeneca has invested around $500 million in China and has become one of theleading biopharmaceutical companies in the country, with a turnover of morethan $1 billion in 2010.
