AstraZeneca has signed a wide-ranging deal with private biotech firm Bicycle Therapeutics to develop a novel class of small molecule medicines for treating respiratory, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
The companies said on Thursday the alliance could potentially be worth more than $1 billion to Bicycle, if all planned programs reach the market. This includes an undisclosed upfront payment.
The early-stage research is focused on using Bicycle’s so-called bicyclic peptide products, which have some of the characteristics of injectable antibody drugs but are small molecules that could be given as pills.
For AstraZeneca, the deal expands its drug discovery capacity in core therapeutic areas outside oncology. Currently, most investors in the company are focused on its pipeline of experimental cancer treatments.
Bicycle, which raised $32 million from investors in an initial funding round in 2014, was set up to capitalize on research initiated at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England.
By Ben Hirschler
Source: Reuters
Big Pharma has long seen the potential for AI and machine learning to accelerate drug development. But Novo Nordisk is going a step further by channeling $200 million toward the creation of a computer that will outrun anything in existence.
Current methods for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease rely on a complex combination of self- and caregiver-reported symptoms, a physical examination and either a PET scan or a spinal tap to look for evidence of amyloid plaque build-ups in the brain. But a new artificial intelligence-based method may make the diagnostic process a much more objective one.
There is lots of talk about diversity and inclusion in business, including in pharma and medtech. A new report by the Open Political Economy Network (OPEN), a think tank focusing on migration and diversity, released its “Minority Businesses Matter: Europe” report highlighting the successes and challenges of ethnic minority-owned businesses in Europe.
