AstraZeneca/Regeneron sign $120M R&D deal

The USA's Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has entered into a non-exclusive license agreement to allow Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca to utilize its VelocImmune technology in its internal research programs to discover human monoclonal antibodies.

AstraZeneca will conduct the work at its Cambridge Antibody Technology subsidiary, in the UK, as part of its recently-stated aim of building a biopharmaceutical capability. The drug major will pay $20.0 million up front and will make up to five additional annual payments of $20.0 million, subject to the ability to terminate the agreement after making the first three. Altogether, the deal is worth up to $120.0 million over six years. Upon commercialization of any products discovered using VelocImmune, AstraZeneca will pay mid-single-digit percentage royalties.

According to Regeneron, its VelocImmune mouse mounts a robust immune response that is virtually indistinguishable from that of a wild type mouse, resulting in a reliable and efficient discovery platform.