Targacept’s (NASDAQ:TRGT) collaboration with drug giant AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) has borne little fruit so far and the number of shots the partners have to come up with a winner is shrinking even more.
AstraZeneca is returning several pre-clinical compounds to Targacept, the Winston-Salem drug developer disclosed in a securities filing. Collaboration on those undisclosed compounds will terminate within the 90 days dating from Feb. 7. But AstraZeneca is holding on to AZD1446, a compound in clinical studies for potential applications in treating Alzheimer’s disease.
Under the collaboration agreement, AstraZeneca holds an exclusive license to develop and commercialize AZD1446, which now stands as the most advanced drug candidate to come from the collaboration following clinical trial failures of other partnered drug candidates. In early 2012, Targacept’s depression drug candidate TC-5214 failed in phase III clinical trials, a result that led to a restructuring, layoffs and the resignation of former CEO Don deBethizy. AstraZeneca subsequently returned to Targacept full rights to the compound, which Targacept is now studying in another indication – overactive bladder.
AstraZeneca had also declined its option to license another compound, TC-5619, which was being studied for applications in schizophrenia. In December, Targacept halted further studies on that compound after the drug candidate failed in a phase IIb clinical trial.
The companies did not disclose what indications the pre-clinical compounds were being studied for. But Targacept will be free to pursue their development, if it chooses.
“When the termination of the several pre-clinical compounds from the collaboration becomes effective, all rights and licenses that Targacept granted under the collaboration agreement to AstraZeneca with regard to the several pre-clinical compounds will terminate and revert to Targacept,” the filing read.
