Astra In Deal With Millennium

Swedish pharmaceutical company Astra has entered into a collaborative research agreement with the US firm Millennium Pharmaceuticals, focussing on inflammatory respiratory disorders.

Under the terms of the agreement, which is valued at around $60 million, Astra will pay Millennium licensing fees and fund a five-year research program. Millennium will also receive milestone payments from Astra, and royalties based on Astra's sales of therapeutic products developed by Astra from the collaboration.

Millennium's business is described as using genetics, genomics and bioinformatics to identify genes responsible for common, major diseases. "The combination of Millennium's ability to elucidate the genetic bases of inflammatory respiratory diseases, coupled with Astra's position as a recognized leader in this area of drug development, gives this collaboration an outstanding opportun- ity for breakthrough pharmaceuticals and diagnostics," commented Steven Holtzman, chief business officer at Millennium.