AstraZeneca and Amgen announce inflammation alliance

AstraZeneca and Amgen have announced a new collaborative agreement pertaining to the development and commercialisation of new inflammation therapies.

Under the terms of the new alliance, the companies will be conducting joint research into five monoclonal antibodies from Amgen's clinical inflammation portfolio that have been identified as potentially offering versatile applications.

Following an upfront payment of $50 million (31.2 million pounds) by AstraZeneca, the two firms will share costs and profits, though AstraZeneca will fund around 65 percent of costs between 2012 and 2014.

The alliance will capitalise on AstraZeneca's global commercial reach in the respiratory and gastrointestinal disease fields, thus providing Amgen with the resources needed to progress its portfolio most effectively.

David Brennan, chief executive officer of AstraZeneca, said: "We are delighted to join forces with Amgen in developing and commercialising these novel clinical-stage assets that add value to our pipeline and build on our expertise in biologics."

Earlier this year, AstraZeneca announced that it will be working with IMS Health on a new project to incorporate real-world clinical data in medical research and health service delivery.