AstraZeneca cooperates with the medical department of Shenzhen University to develop drugs for chronic kidney disease

AstraZeneca announced on March 27 that it had reached a cooperation agreement with the medical department of Shenzhen University to jointly carry out the preclinical development of chronic kidney disease drugs The specific amount of the agreement was not disclosed The medical department of Shenzhen University has strong academic and scientific research ability in the field of kidney disease and urology AstraZeneca has rich experience in new drug discovery According to the cooperation agreement, the experts of kidney disease and urology in the medical department of Shenzhen University will work together with the scientific research team from AstraZeneca (China) Shanghai innovation research center, and the two sides can achieve complementary advantages More than 112 million people suffered from kidney disease in China in 2010, and the number of patients is expected to increase by 20% to 135 million by 2025 Among them, the number of patients with renal failure due to diabetic nephropathy is expected to increase by 80% in 2025, about 18 million people The cooperation between AstraZeneca and Shenzhen University will also give priority to the development of diabetic nephropathy drugs Steve, global R & D president of AstraZeneca and R & D president of Asia and emerging markets Yang said: "the cooperation is based on a global (in the United States, China and other major markets) strategic cooperation agreement reached by AstraZeneca and fibrogen in July last year to jointly develop the first in class oral chronic kidney disease drug fg-4592, marking the new drug development of AstraZeneca in China to expand to a new field, and also indicating AstraZeneca's expectation in China More new drug R & D work will be carried out by improving internal R & D capacity and conducting external cooperation " "Incidence rate of China's chronic kidney disease is rising rapidly, and the cost of medical care for advanced chronic kidney disease is quite high," Guan Youfei, director of the medical department of Shenzhen University and a well-known nephrology expert in China, said "We hope to further understand the pathogenesis of the disease and develop innovative drugs to benefit China And global patients " AstraZeneca and Shenzhen University Health Science Center to collaborate on chronic kidney disease Under the terms of the agreement, scientists from Shenzhen University Health Science Center’s Nephrology and Urology Center will work in collaboration with teams from AstraZeneca’s Innovation Center China in Shanghai, bringing together complementary skills that will harness and foster medical innovation: Shenzhen University’s academic and clinical capabilities and AstraZeneca’s heritage in global research and drug discovery Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed As a priority, the partners will focus on diabetic nephropathy, damage to the kidneys caused by diabetes, which, in severe cases, can lead to kidney failure While not all diabetes patients have kidney damage, it is growing at exponential rates in China Between 2010 and 2025, the number of patients who experience kidney failure as a result of diabetic complications is expected to increase nearly 80% in China, to over 18 million patients.² China has overtaken the US in the preva1ence of diabetes, with nearly 114 million Chinese people, or 11.5% of all adults, living with the disease in 2010.ᶟ “This collaboration signifies an expansion into an imp0rtant new disease area for AstraZeneca’s drug discovery efforts here in China,” said Steve Yang, vice president and head of the company’s Asia and Emerging Markets Innovative Medicines Unit “Last year, we delivered the first AstraZeneca pre-clinical candidate drug to be discovered by our scientists in China, in the area of oncology And now, in addition to our ongoing research efforts in oncology, we are also putting our talented scientists to work in chronic kidney disease – another area of unmet medical need This demonstrates our commitment to R&D in China through both internal capability building and external partnerships.” He added that this partnership builds on AstraZeneca’s strategic collaboration with Fibrogen announced in July last year to develop and commercialise FG-4592, a first-in-class oral compound in late stage development for the treatment of with CKD and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in key markets around the world, including China Director of Shenzhen University Health Science Center and one of China’s foremost kidney disease experts, Professor Youfei Guan, said, “Chronic kidney disease is growing rapidly in China and caring for advanced chronic kidney disease is extremely costly Together with AstraZeneca’s world-class scientists, we hope to understand the mechanisms of the disease better and ultimately develop novel medicines to benefit patients – not only in China but worldwide.” “I look forward to the opportunity of joining our partner in looking at exciting new science that will benefit patients, commented Xiaolin Zhang, head of AstraZeneca’s Innovation Center China “We also see this programme not just as an opportunity to help us discover new treatments but also a unique possibility for joint talent development.” He added that the partners are also eva1uating the establishment of a joint post doctorate programme, which would pave the way for further enhancing scientific leadership and strengthen scientific interactions between the industry and academia.