Amgen to drop co-development of brodalumab with AstraZeneca

US biotech giant Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) said on Friday it has commenced termination of its participation in the co-development and commercialization of brodalumab with Anglo-Swedish pharma major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN), under an accord signed in 2012 for five monoclonal antibodies from Amgen's clinical inflammation portfolio, that involved a $50 million upfront payment to Amgen (The Pharma Letter April 3, 2012).

Brodalumab, an investigational IL-17 inhibitor, is in development for patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and axial spondyloarthritis. The decision was based on events of suicidal ideation and behavior in the brodalumab program, which Amgen believes likely would necessitate restrictive labeling.

"During our preparation process for regulatory submissions, we came to believe that labeling requirements likely would limit the appropriate patient population for brodalumab," said Sean Harper, executive vice president of R&D at Amgen.