UK's C4X Discovery signs $400 mln licensing deal with AstraZeneca

British drug discovery company C4X Discovery C4XDL said AstraZeneca AZN had signed a licence worth up $402 million to develop an oral therapy for the treatment of inflammatory and respiratory diseases using its NRF2 Activator programme.

C4XD said on Monday it would receive pre-clinical milestone payments worth up to $16 million ahead of the first clinical trial, including $2 million upfront.

In addition, C4XD said it would receive a further potential $385.8 million in clinical development and commercial milestones and tiered mid-single digit royalties upon commercialisation of any treatment.