AstraZeneca in-licenses vaccine component; selects Alzheimer's drug candidate from Astex accord; moves forward with BTG's CytoFab

In what was a busy couple of days for the Anglo-Swedish drug major, AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN), through its US subsidiary MedImmune, has entered into an agreement with privately-held Immune Design Corp for the use and commercialization of IDC’s proprietary Glucopyranosyl Lipid Adjuvant (GLA) as a component in vaccines for select infectious diseases.

Under the terms of the deal, IDC grants MedImmune exclusive worldwide rights to research, develop, use and commercialize the GLA adjuvant in vaccines for specific indications.  In return, IDC will receive an upfront licensing fee and potential development, regulatory and commercial milestones totaling $212 million, in addition to royalty payments on sales of marketed products.

Astra Zeneca has also selected a candidate drug from its drug discovery program with privately-held UK biotech firm Astex Therapeutics aimed at identifying novel, small molecule inhibitors of beta-secretase - a key enzyme implicated in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.