AstraZeneca, Inovio join hands to produce cancer fighting drug

Bagging another cancer drug deal, AstraZeneca has entered into an agreement with Inovio Pharmaceuticals. The joint venture will produce a drug for boosting the immune system.

AstraZeneca entered into a third such deal within a week. As per the agreement, AstraZeneca will pay Inovio $27.5 million for now. The latter is also eying a future payment of up to $700 million in the deal.

Sources said that the future payments will depend upon the results seen in the first experiment titled INO-3112 immunotherapy. INO-3112 immunotherapy will be particularly significant in handling cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18-responsible for cervical cancers.

Earlier, AstraZeneca tied up with Heptares and Mirati.

"Today's collaboration with Inovio leverages our deep internal expertise in the use of vaccines to drive antigen-specific T-cell responses. The unique combination of our broad immuno-oncology portfolio with Inovio's T-cell- activating INO-3112, which enhances cancer specific killer T-cells, has the potential to deliver real clinical benefits for patients," said Dr. David Berman, Senior Vice President and Head of the Oncology Innovative Medicines unit, MedImmune, a unit of AstraZeneca.

Dr. J. Joseph Kim, President and CEO, Inovio, stated that by signing the agreement, MedImmune has reposed a lot of trust in Inovio's potential in activating killer T-cells in vivo.

The project is backed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The other areas where the two companies (AstraZeneca and Inovio) are working include Ebola, influenza, and bacterial infections.

MedImmune has long been working in the field of infectious disease and vaccine innovations.