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Global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has today announced its agreement to pay up to $1.92 billion to CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Limited (CSPC) for a promising novel pre-clinical molecule that has shown activity against the formation of lipoprotein (a).

Lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), is a variant of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and has been identified as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and coronary heart disease - conditions that contribute to more than 2.6 million deaths annually.

The new molecule, coded YS2302018, is expected to play a vital role in the management of patients struggling with dyslipidemia.

“This asset is an important addition to our cardiovascular pipeline and could help patients to more effectively manage their dyslipidemia and related cardiometabolic diseases.,” stated Sharon Barr, Vice President, AstraZeneca.

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In this exclusive licensing agreement, AstraZeneca will gain access to YS2302018 and will aim to develop it as a new lipid-lowering therapy.

The multinational pharmaceutical giant will make an upfront initial payment of $100 million to CSPC - the company that discovered the molecule.

CSCP’s Chairman, Dongchen Cai, expressed excitement with the new deal, hoping to leverage AstraZeneca’s world-class capabilities in clinical development and commercialization of the new molecule.

It is anticipated that after development, YS2302018 will be used as a single or combination therapy to decrease the probability of progression to chronic cardiovascular disease as a result of dyslipidemia.

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