AstraZeneca Plc and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. will work together, expanding an earlier collaboration, to seek gene therapy treatments for diseases affecting the heart, kidneys and the body’s metabolism.
AstraZeneca agreed to pay Isis an upfront fee of $65 million plus development and regulatory milestones for each program that the London-based drugmaker advances to clinical development, the companies said in a statement. Isis, based in Carlsbad, California, will earn tiered double-digit royalties on annual sales of each program.