AstraZeneca seen frontrunner to buy Acadia drug
Fri Jul 20, 2007 7:04AM EDT
By Ben Hirschler
LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) is a frontrunner to buy rights to U.S-based Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s (ACAD.O: Quote, Profile, Research) experimental schizophrenia drug pimavanserin, the Anglo-Swedish group's house broker said on Friday.
Mark Purcell, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, believes AstraZeneca is in a strong position to license the product, which is also known as ACP-103, in the second half of this year.
Adding pimavanserin to its established schizophrenia blockbuster Seroquel would allow AstraZeneca to launch a fixed combination treatment in 2010 with reduced sedation and weight gain, improved cognitive function, a faster onset of action and improved efficacy, he said.
An AstraZeneca spokesman declined to comment on the possiblity of a deal with Acadia. Chief Executive David Brennan, however, has made striking deals with biotech companies a priority for the group as it seeks to rebuild its pipeline.
Seroquel is expected to account for around 35 percent of AstraZeneca's profits in 2011 and a potential Acadia deal could protect 50 percent of the franchise and some 11 percent of group profits beyond patent expiry in 2012, Purcell said in a note.
U.S. biotech firm Acadia announced in March positive results from a mid-stage trial of pimavanserin, which is designed to be used in combination with existing antipsychotics, allowing them to be used in smaller doses with fewer side effects.
Pimavanserin was tested in combination with Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) antipsychotic Risperdal, which works in a similar way to Seroquel.
Acadia said at the time it would explore strategic alliances to help it complete late-stage trials for the drug.
Pimavanserin targets a neuronal receptor in the brain known as 5-HT2a, which reduces the activity of the brain chemical serotonin. This in turn modulates another chemical known as dopamine.
New-generation atypical antipsychotics such as Seroquel and Risperdal are designed to reduce dopamine in areas of the brain where it can cause psychosis and increase it in areas where it can enhance learning and memory.
By adding the new drug to a low-dose antipsychotic, the idea is to more efficiently modulate dopamine, which in turn leads to fewer of the side effects. |
