BRIEF—Mereo in-licenses drug from AZ, with option to acquire

UK-based rare and specialty diseases specialist Mereo BioPharma has reached an agreement with Anglo-Swedish pharma major AstraZeneca for an exclusive license, including an option to acquire, AZD9668, an oral inhibitor of neutrophil elastase.

Under the exclusive license, Mereo plans to conduct a Phase II study for the treatment of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), a congenital orphan condition that affects approximately 100,000 patients in the USA and 120,000 in Europe.

As part of the deal, Mereo will pay $5 million to AstraZeneca, $3 million of it in cash and the rest in shares in the company.

AstraZeneca’s data package on AZD9668 includes extensive Phase II studies in several respiratory conditions that will inform the initial AATD trial.