Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (INO)

[Ubertino]

AstraZeneca allots $727 million to buy cancer treatment

By Clark Smith - August 11, 2015

AstraZeneca is playing a significant role in the immunotherapy field by throwing $727 million in a drug treatment deal, keeping away with chemotherapy.

Washington, D.C. – The research arm of the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, the MedImmune announced its plans on buying a cancer treatment, which might cost the entire company with a whopping $727 million.

Although the deal is not yet approved, the cancer treatment INO-3112 is said to fight cancer by boosting the body’s own immune response to tumors.

MedImmune will join a group of companies that are wishing to up the ante into the emerging immunotherapy field, involving treatments that target the immune system of a person.

The Inovio chief executive said that the ultimate objective of the project is to create chemotherapy a thing of the past. Chemotherapy has been the traditional therapy for treating cancer that involves radiation, aside from surgery. The Pennsylvania-based Inovio is the biotech firm that developed the INO-3112.

Meanwhile, the price tag of the licenses highlights the significant risk that the giant pharmaceutical companies would take for a chance to market the next big thing when it comes to cancer treatment.

Up front, MedImmune of AstraZeneca has agreed to give $27.5 million payment for the license, while another $700 million for additional payments if the drug reaches certain milestones.

On the other hand, Inovio will receive a small but significant cut from the sales revenues, from below 10% towards a two-digit mark as sales increase. This is the agreement if the drug hits the market, and while the FDA is still going through the approval process.

Immunotherapy has become a significant field full of several players that are willing to throw a huge amount of money.

Scientists of MedImmune also think that the future of oncology is not likely to be cornered by only one or two ‘miracle drugs.’

MedImmune’s appointed oncology head, David Berman said AstraZeneca, as a whole, has a strong belief that combinations are going to become ‘transformative,’ with ideas on developing drugs that target various human mechanisms.

https://www.gazettetribune.com/astrazeneca-allots-727-million-to-buy-cancer-treatment/3426/