$9m Christmas windfall for Redx Pharma

Biotech firm Redx Pharma has announced a $9m windfall from AstraZeneca for a drug it has discovered.

The payment has been triggered as a result of the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of a porcupine inhibitor drug targeting fibrotic diseases including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Last August AstraZeneca signed a licensing deal with Redx.

Under the terms of the deal, the pharma giant will pay Redx for a number of early milestones that totals $17m.

Redx is also eligible to receive up to $360m in additional payments, dependent on development, regulatory and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties on any future sales.

Lisa Anson, CEO of Redx, said:  “The successful achievement of this milestone highlights, once again, Redx’s ability to generate novel product candidates that have significant potential for diseases with high unmet medical need.

“This is the fourth product candidate discovered by Redx to enter clinical trials.”