Valeant And AstraZeneca Enter Deal Over Psoriasis Drug
Development work on a new drug for psoriasis sufferers is back on track after pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca struck a deal with Canadian company Valeant to develop and market an experimental treatment for psoriasis.
The move comes three months after Astra’s previous collaborator on the programme pulled out over concerns that patients taking the drug had suffered from suicidal thoughts.
The drug, Brodalumab, aims to prevent the body from receiving signals that could lead to inflammation is targeted to patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis.
J Michael Pearson, CEO of Valeant said, “We are delighted we were able to reach a licensing agreement with AstraZeneca to commercialise Brodalumab, which is potentially the most efficacious therapy yet for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. We remain fully committed to dermatology and will continue to advance our pipeline of internally developed and acquired products.”
The treatment is supported by research from three phase III studies involving 3,500 patients, where at a recorded dose of 210mg every two weeks. Regulatory submission in the EU and US is due in late 2015.
