AstraZeneca (AZN) announced a deal for an experimental weight-loss pill and raised its guidance on higher demand for its cancer treatments.

The Anglo-Swedish drug maker said it struck a licensing agreement with Shanghai-based Eccogene for its ECC504 once-daily oral treatment to reduce weight, which showed promise in a Phase 1 study. In addition, ECC504 is designed to treat type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases. 

AstraZeneca indicated Eccogene would receive an upfront payment of $185 million, and co𝓀uld get an additional $1.825 billion in future clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones and tiered royalties on sales. The transaction gives AstraZeneca exclusive global developmental and commercialization rights to ECC504 except in China, where Eccogene has the right to work with AstraZeneca to produce the drug there.

The announcement came a day after Eli Lilly (LLY) received U.S. regulatory approval for Zepbound, an injectable medicine to help people lose weight. The active ingredient in Zepbound, tirzepatide, had previously been approved to treat type 2 diabetes under the brand name Mounjaro. Market demand has been soaring for diabetes drugs such as Mounjaro and Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) Ozempic and Wegovy that have shown to help patients shed p🎃ounds. 

AstraZeneca also reported third quarter fiscal 2023 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:earnings per share (EPS) of $1.73, with revenue increasing 4% from a year ago to $11.49 billion. Both exceeded forecasts. The company noted that sales were held down by falling demand for its COVID-19 medicines. 

AstraZeneca explained that because of its third quarter performance, it’s raising its full-year guidance for revenue to a mid-single-digit percent gain, up from the previous low-to-mid-single digit percent. Excluding COVID-19 medicines, sales are expected to go up by a low-teens percent, as opposed to the earlier low-double-digit percent outl𒁃ook. Core EPS is anticipated to be higher by low-double-digit to low-teens percent, compared to the earlier high-single-digit to low-double-digit percent estimate.

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:American depositary receipts of AstraZeneca rose over 2% in early trading Thursday following the news, but remained lower for the year.