AstraZeneca and CSPC Pharmaceuticals have announced a new collaboration agreement for the development of therapies for obesity and type 2 diabetes.
The agreement spans eight programmes, four of which will be initially progressed. CSPC’s AI-driven peptide drug discovery platform, as well as its proprietary LiquidGel once-monthly dosing platform, will be used as part of the collaboration.
Almost three billion people globally are thought to be either overweight or obese, and this figure is constantly rising. Obesity is associated with more than 200 complications, including cardiometabolic diseases. Approximately 60% of people who are obese or overweight have at least one comorbidity. There is an urgent unmet medical need for treatments that can tackle obesity and its comorbidities.
Sharon Barr, executive vice president and head of BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca, added: “This strategic collaboration advances our weight management portfolio by delivering novel assets that complement our existing programmes.
“It will provide access to CSPC’s proprietary AI-enabled peptide capabilities and platform technology, which have the potential to transform the treatment of obesity, helping to address adherence and convenience as key barriers to long-term therapeutic success.
Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will receive exclusive global rights to CSPC’s portfolio of injectable weight management treatments outside China. This includes SYH2082, which is clinical-ready, a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor/glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GLP1R/GIPR) agonist progressing into phase 1 studies, and three programmes currently in the preclinical stage.
AstraZeneca can also choose to pursue future programmes using LiquidGel, and has the rights to use LiquidGel in its internal development programmes.
CSPC will receive an upfront payment from AstraZeneca and is eligible for development and regulatory milestone payments, commercialisation and sales milestone payments, and royalties.
Dongchen Cai, chairman of the board at CSPC, said: “Obesity and related comorbidities represent a significant health challenge but also an opportunity.”
Barr added: “This is an important step in creating a portfolio of simple, scalable and sustainable options that can help people with obesity and weight-related complications live better, healthier lives.”