Astex Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company developing small molecule therapeutics for oncology and diseases of the central nervous system, has earned a milestone payment from AstraZeneca for the first commercial sale of Truqap plus Faslodex for HR-positive, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer in the U.S. following the U.S. FDA’s approval.

Truqap is a first-in-class oral targeted inhibitor of the cancer-driving protein AKT, also known as PKB. AKT is an enzyme that plays a key role in the PI3K/AKT tumor cell survival pathway, and dysregulation of this pathway leads to tumor resistance to a number of important anti-cancer medicines.

Following the marketing approval, Astex is also eligible to receive royalties on future sales.

Harren Jhoti, President and CEO of Astex, UK, said, “We are incredibly proud that another of our drug discovery partnerships has resulted in such a successful outcome. We applaud our valued colleagues at AstraZeneca for their tenacity and exceptional work in the discovery and development of this first-in-class medicine.”