AstraZeneca raises stakes in obesity drug race with Eccogene deal
AstraZeneca moved on Thursday to boost its drugs pipeline in the booming anti-obesity market, saying it would pay China's Eccogene up to about $2 billion for an exclusive licence to develop an experimental oral drug in the field. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said it had struck the deal for ECC5004, a once-daily oral drug that is part of a class of highly promising weight-loss medicines known as GLP-1 receptor agonists currently dominated by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, which have injectable products. Astra, alongside reporting quarterly results, said Eccogene would receive $185 million up...
Source: yahoo.com
