AstraZeneca Plc is to pay $100 million upfront and up to $1.92 billion in milestone payments for rights to a pre-clinical lipid-lowering therapy from China. The developer, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd, is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and has R&D facilities in both China and the US. The asset being acquired is a small molecule lipoprotein inhibitor which is in pre-clinical development for patients suffering from dyslipidaemia, a disorder involving abnormal levels of lipids in the bloodstream. Dyslipidaemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
