Array BioPharma and AstraZeneca announced a licensing and collaboration agreement to develop Array's MEK programme in the field of oncology. The program includes the clinical development candidate (ARRY-142886) and related intellectual property.
Under the agreement, Array will receive an upfront payment of $10 million, research funding, potential development milestones of over $85 million (dependent upon the number of successfully commercialized products) and royalties on product sales. Array plans to file an investigational new drug application (IND) and initiate a Phase I clinical trial during 2004.
AstraZeneca acquires exclusive worldwide rights to ARRY-142886 and certain second-generation compounds for all oncology indications.
"This product development agreement highlights the strength of Array's capabilities to create valuable orally-active drugs against therapeutically novel targets," said Robert E Conway, CEO, Array BioPharma. "We believe that AstraZeneca, a leader in oncology, is an ideal partner to bring our most advanced proprietary product to cancer patients."
"Array has shown tremendous resourcefulness and expertise in creating this exciting drug candidate, supported by scientifically compelling preclinical data," said Les Hughes, head of Oncology Research at AstraZeneca. "This program, which holds promise for the treatment of multiple cancer indications, is an important addition to our strong oncology pipeline and is complementary to our other research interests."
ARRY-142886, a selective orally-active MEK inhibitor, interferes with a critical cellular hyperproliferation pathway. ARRY-142886 has shown tumor suppressive activity in multiple rodent models of human cancer including melanoma, pancreatic, colon, lung, and breast cancers.
AstraZeneca has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to ARRY-142886 and certain second-generation compounds for all oncology indications. Array retains the rights to all therapeutic indications for compounds not selected by AstraZeneca as part of the collaboration. The parties have created a joint steering committee to oversee the drug development process.
Array is responsible for filing the IND, Phase I clinical testing and certain aspects of process research for the development of ARRY-142886. In addition, Array is responsible for creating a select number of second-generation compounds, including cGMP manufacturing of Phase I clinical materials. AstraZeneca will be responsible for all other aspects of clinical development and commercialization.
Founded in 1998, Array BioPharma is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado and employs over 250, including 184 scientists. Additional companies utilizing Array's drug discovery expertise include ICOS, InterMune, Eli Lilly, GenPath, Merck, Roche and Takeda.
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the top five pharmaceutical companies in the world with healthcare sales of over $17.8 billion in 2002 and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, oncology, cardiovascular, neuroscience and respiratory products.