AstraZeneca Plans To Drug The Undruggable With Scorpion Partnership

Pays $75m Upfront

The UK major will work with the US biotech to develop up to three precision medicines targeting cancer proteins previously thought undruggable via conventional methods.    

Microscopic view of cancer cells. Cancer occurs when a cell's gene mutations make the cell unable to correct DNA damage.
The Partners Aim To Disrupt The Activity Of Highly-Validated Cancer Targets • Source: Alamy

More from Deals

China Deal-Making Matures As Foreign Partners Derisk Asset Acquisition

 
• By 

Chinese biopharma companies’ alliance strategies are transitioning from immediate cash needs to more strategic management of portfolios, as MNCs continue to hunt for derisked assets.

PureTech Weighs Up Pros And Cons Of Going Private

 
• By 

The biotech has rejected a takeover bid from Nordic Capital but a sale to private equity could be a solution to the public market's continued reluctance to adequately value PureTech’s hub-and-spoke business model.

GSK Ramps Up Neuroscience Investment With ABL Brain Shuttle Deal

 

The pact could be worth more than $2.6bn and adds to growing big pharma investment in the technology.

Epsilogen Hits Antibody Acquisition Trail With TigaTx Takeover

 
• By 

Following the near-total dominance of IgG antibodies, the UK group is backing the potential of IgA and IgE-based therapies to transform cancer treatment with the purchase of US-headquartered TigaTx.

More from Business

UK Promises To ‘Turbo-Charge’ Clinical Trials As Tariff Threat Remains

 

Faced with Trump’s hostile tariff moves, the UK aims to speed up clinical trial start times to support its pharma sector and invest £600m in a new health data research service.

PureTech Weighs Up Pros And Cons Of Going Private

 
• By 

The biotech has rejected a takeover bid from Nordic Capital but a sale to private equity could be a solution to the public market's continued reluctance to adequately value PureTech’s hub-and-spoke business model.

Q1 IPOs Rise From Q4, But Unstable Markets Could Slow New Offerings

 
• By 

There were six biopharma initial public offerings on Western stock exchanges, including five in the US, during the first quarter, but plunging stock values could halt further IPOs.