MedImmune In-Licenses Shionogi's Cardiovascular Biologic Program
MedImmune, the bio-technology arm of AstraZeneca, announced its acquisition of Shionogi’s preclinical cardiovascular biologic program, which could bring to the table a potential treatment for acute coronary syndrome (ACS).
The companies partnered previously with the highly successful drug Crestor, and they have struck a new deal which stipulates MedImmune will take over all research, development, and manufacturing costs. In return, they will acquire exclusive global marketing rights, though Shionogi retains the option to co-market in Japan. The financial terms of the agreement were not released.
ACS is an umbrella term which refers to any condition where blood flow to the heart is blocked. One potential blocker is low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. In excessive amounts, LDL can build up on artery walls, eventually sealing them shut.
Shionogi’s biologic program could potentially boost the body’s production of high-density lipoprotein (HDL). HDL works as a scavenger collecting LDL from the blood stream, thus reducing the risk of heart disease.
Exercise, smoking cessation, stress management, and weight loss are all natural ways of increasing HDL and are usually effective. However, a pharmaceutical method of raising HDL levels is a puzzle that has stymied researchers for decades. Pharmacological intervention in HDL production so far has come up short, and drugs that show a boost in HDL production do not reduce heart disease risk.
Furthermore, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have discovered that certain types of oxidized HDL increased risk for blockage rather than prevented it.
Recently, attention in ACS research has shifted towards bio-technology, and scientists are working to discover if biologic therapies might succeed where their chemical counter-parts have failed.
Cristina Rondinone, VP of MedImmune CVMD Innovative Medicines Unit, indicated that cardiovascular and metabolic disease was one of MedImmune’s primary areas of focus and welcomed the addition of Shionogi’s biologic program with the hopes of developing an effective ACS medicine.
Last year, MedImmune acquired AlphaCore pharma, an Ann Arbor bio-technology company formed specifically to develop a recombinant human lechithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) enzyme. LCAT deficiency, which results in an extremely low level of HDL, is extremely rare, but the genetic condition currently has no known treatment.
AlphaCore’s treatment, currently in a phase 1 clinical trial with MedImmune, potentially replaces the mutated and deficient LCAT gene with a synthetic version.