Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has licensed IONIS-AZ6-2.5-L_Rx, or AZD2693, to AstraZeneca following its advancement into development. IONIS-AZ6-2.5-L_Rx is designed to inhibit an undisclosed target to treat patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In conjunction with this milestone, AstraZeneca will pay a $30 million license fee to Ionis and will be responsible for further development and commercialization. Ionis is also eligible to receive as much as $300 million in additional development and regulatory milestones, as well as royalties on sales.

“This is the third drug to enter development under our strategic collaboration with AstraZeneca to discover drugs to treat cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases. IONIS-AZ6-2.5-L_Rx incorporates many of the advancements we have made in antisense technology, including our LIgand-Conjugated Antisense (LICA) and Generation 2.5 chemistry, and is the second drug in our collaboration to incorporate both modifications. By combining Generation 2.5 and LICA, we generate drugs that have the advantages of both higher affinity chemistry and efficient cell-specific targeting,” said Brett P. Monia, chief operating officer, senior vice president of antisense drug discovery and translational medicine at Ionis Pharmaceuticals. “We are pleased with how quickly we moved IONIS-AZ6-2.5-L_Rx from target validation into development. AstraZeneca has played a strategic role in advancing this program forward by providing both preclinical and development expertise in NASH that has contributed to the rapid advance of this drug into development. We look forward to AstraZeneca moving this program swiftly into clinical testing and ultimately to the market.”