AstraZeneca and The Medicines Company have collaborated globally for their acute ischaemic heart disease compounds. The first part of this collaboration is a US co-promotion for AstraZeneca’s oral antiplatelet medicine Brilinta.

Under the terms of the co-promotion agreement, The Medicines Company sales force will begin supporting Brilinta in May 2012. This will complement the AstraZeneca sales team’s promotion of Brilinta to US hospital customers and practitioners whose patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) may benefit from this important therapy.

“The Medicines Company is a respected organisation with a strong network in interventional cardiology,” said Lisa Schoenberg, vice president, US Sales and Marketing, Growth Portfolio, AstraZeneca. “We have laid the groundwork for Brilinta in the US with strong managed market access as well as hospital formulary and protocol access such that now is the right time to bring this important medicine to more patients with ACS through additional support in the acute setting.”

Under the terms of the global collaboration, a joint development committee and a joint commercialisation committee have been established to prepare and deliver global development and commercialisation plans related to AstraZeneca’s Brilinta and The Medicines Company’s Angiomax (bivalirudin) for injection and cangrelor, which is in development as an acute intravenous antiplatelet agent. Implementation of these plans is subject to further agreements between both parties.

The agreement also outlines terms for the four-year US Brilinta co-promotion agreement in which AstraZeneca will pay The Medicines Company $15 million per year for performing pre-agreed commercialisation activities with up to an additional $5 million per year paid if performance thresholds are met.

“Our goal in joining this global collaboration with AstraZeneca is to help improve patient care with a comprehensive suite of solutions for acute ischaemic heart disease,” said Brent Furse, senior vice president and chief customer officer of The Medicines Company. “This opportunity aligns with our vision to lead in acute, intensive care hospital medicine globally.”

Brilinta is an oral antiplatelet treatment for ACS. Brilinta is a direct-acting P2Y12 receptor antagonist in a new chemical class called cyclopentyltriazolopyrimidines (CPTPs).

Brilinta is approved in 73 countries, including in the European Union under the trade name Brilique and in the US, Brazil, Canada, Australia and Russia, under the trade name Brilinta. Brilinta and Brilique are trademarks of the AstraZeneca group of companies.

ACS is an umbrella term for conditions that result from insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle. These conditions range from unstable angina (UA), non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), or ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Angiomax is a direct thrombin inhibitor with a naturally reversible mechanism of action and a 25 minute half-life. In the United States, Angiomax with provisional use of glycoprotein IIB/IIIA (GPI) is indicated in patients undergoing angioplasty, also called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and in patients with, or at risk of, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) or heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis syndrome (HIT/HITTS) undergoing PCI. In addition, Angiomax is indicated for use as an anticoagulant in patients with unstable angina (UA) undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Angiomax is intended for use with aspirin. Angiomax is not approved for use in ACS patients not undergoing PCI or PTCA.

Cangrelor is an investigational intravenous small molecule antiplatelet agent not approved for commercial use in any market.

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines for gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation, oncology and infectious disease.

The Medicines Company provides medical solutions to improve health outcomes for patients in acute and intensive care hospitals worldwide.