Ionis earns $30 million license fee from AstraZeneca

California, USA-based Ionis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IONIS) saw its shares rise almost 4% to $42.28 today, after it revealed that it has licensed IONIS-AZ6-2.5-LRx, or AZD2693, to AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) following advancement of the drug into development.

IONIS-AZ6-2.5-LRx is designed to inhibit an undisclosed target to treat patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In conjunction with this milestone, AstraZeneca will pay a $30 million license fee to Ionis. AstraZeneca will be responsible for further development and commercialization of IONIS-AZ6-2.5-LRx.

"This is the third drug to enter development under our strategic collaboration with AstraZeneca to discover drugs to treat cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases. IONIS-AZ6-2.5-LRx incorporates many of the advancements we have made in antisense technology, including our LIgand-Conjugated Antisense (LICA) and Generation 2.5 chemistry, and is the second drug in our collaboration to incorporate both modifications,” said Brett Monia, chief operating officer, senior vice president of antisense drug discovery and translational medicine at Ionis Pharmaceuticals.