Dynavax collaboration with AstraZeneca could total $136 million

BERKELEY, Calif.—Early September saw Dynavax Technologies Corp. enter into a research collaboration and license agreement with AstraZeneca for the discovery and development of TLR-9 agonist-based therapies for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The collaboration will utilize Dynavax's proprietary second-generation TLR-9 agonist immunostimula­tory sequences (ISS).

Under the terms of the agree­ment, Dynavax and AstraZeneca will collaborate to identify lead TLR-9 agonists and conduct appro­priate research-phase studies. AstraZeneca will be responsible for any development and world­wide commercialization of prod­ucts arising out of the research program. Dynavax may also have the opportunity to co-promote in the United States products arising from the collaboration.

Financial terms of the collabora­tion include an upfront fee of $10 million plus research funding and preclinical milestones that could bring the total committed funding to $27 million, resulting in a total potential deal value of approxi­mately $136 million. Upon com­mercialization, Dynavax is also eligible to receive royalties based on product sales.

"The management of respira­tory diseases such as asthma and COPD remains a major health challenge affecting 150 million people worldwide and represent­ing a significant financial burden to the global healthcare system," says Claude Bertrand, VP, respira­tory and inflammation research at AstraZeneca. "AstraZeneca believes that Dynavax's ISS-based technology represents an innova­tive, next-generation therapeutic intervention that could poten­tially expand and strengthen AstraZeneca's strong position in the respiratory disease field."

"We believe that AstraZeneca is the ideal partner for the develop­ment of asthma and COPD ISS-based therapies, as they have one of the most widely respected and commercially successful respi­ratory product portfolios in the industry," notes Dr. Dino Dina, Dynavax's CEO. "We appreciate AstraZeneca's recognition of the innovative, disease-modifying potential of our TLR-9 agonist-based approaches and are opti­mistic that with our combined resources and know-how, we will be able to create novel therapeutics that may provide benefit to patients suffering from these diseases.