AstraZeneca in $200-mn cancer drug development deal with Bind Therapeutics

Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca will pay privately-held biotech company Bind Therapeutics as much as $200 million to develop a cancer drug.

AstraZeneca and Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Bind Therapeutics today announced that they have entered into a strategic collaboration to develop and commercialise Accurin, a targeted and programmable cancer nanomedicine from Bind's Medicinal Nanoengineering platform, based on a molecularly targeted kinase inhibitor developed and owned by AstraZeneca.

Bind is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of highly selective targeted and programmable therapeutics called Accurins through its Medicinal Nanoengineering platform that has superior target selectivity and the potential to improve patient outcomes in the areas of oncology, inflammatory diseases and cardiovascular disorders.

Accurins is expected to outperform conventional drugs by selectively accumulating in diseased tissues and cells. The result is higher drug concentrations at the site of action with minimal off-target exposure, leading to better efficacy and safety.

Accurin is expected to enter into clinical trials in 12 to 18 months.

Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will work together to complete investigational new drug-enabling studies of Accurin, identified from a previously-completed feasibility programme.

AstraZeneca will then have exclusive development and marketing rights, while Bind will manufacture the drug during the development phase.

Bind could receive $69 million as upfront and pre-approval milestone payments, and more than $130 million in regulatory and sales milestones and other payments as well as tiered single to double-digit royalties on future sales.

''One year ago, Bind started several feasibility projects with major pharmaceutical companies. Our collaboration with AstraZeneca is the first one completed and had very successful results. Due to the advanced nature of this programme, we now plan to move an Accurin with optimised therapeutic properties quickly into product development,'' said Scott Minick, president and CEO of Bind

''AstraZeneca believes that targeted therapies which specifically address the underlying mechanisms of disease are the future of personalised cancer treatment,'' said Susan Galbraith, head of AstraZeneca's Oncology Innovative Medicines Unit.

''Our oncology teams are actively exploring a range of platforms to deliver targeted therapies, with a strategic focus on unlocking the significant potential of nanoparticles in cancer treatment. We view Bind's targeted nanomedicines as a leading technology in this field.''

Bind was founded on proprietary technology from the laboratories of two leaders in the field of nanomedicine, professors Robert Langer, David Koch Institute professor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Omid Farokhzad, Associate Professor of Harvard Medical School.

The company is backed by investors, including Polaris Venture Partners, Flagship Ventures, Arch Venture Partners, NanoDimension, DHK Investments, EndeavourVision and Rusnano.