Wragge & Co LLP Life Sciences Team has advised AstraZeneca on its research and development collaboration with Silence Therapeutics to develop novel respiratory therapeutics. The collaboration will generate up to £200 million in initial access fees and upon achievement of certain milestone payments, plus royalties on product sales.

AstraZeneca and Silence Therapeutics will jointly collaborate in the early phase of identification and optimisation of novel siRNA molecules. The agreement is primarily in the respiratory field but includes an option to allow for targets that extend the collaboration into other disease areas of interest to AstraZeneca. During the collaboration, AstraZeneca will retain full responsibility for the clinical development and commercialisation of novel respiratory therapeutics.

Head of life sciences Patrick Duxbury worked alongside AstraZeneca's Senior Counsel, Andrew Gorecki.

Patrick Duxbury said: "Our dedicated team of life sciences experts worked with AstraZeneca to secure this strategic agreement with Silence Therapeutics. Hopefully, this alliance will speed up the research and development of respiratory treatments. At Wragge & Co, we have a sector-focused team providing clients with a partner-led service that marries technical expertise with industry insight."

With over 66,000 employees, AstraZeneca is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. It has a significant franchise in the respiratory area, one of the six therapy areas it focuses its resources on. This is largest deal to date that the team has assisted AstraZeneca on.

Silence Therapeutics is a leading European RNAi therapeutics company. In April 2007 it was valued at over £100 million. Mark Lubbock of Ashurst advised Silence Therapeutics.

Wragge & Co's Life Sciences Team delivers a unique mix of IP, corporate, antitrust, regulatory and dispute resolution advice to many of the sector's key players. It acts for a broad range of clients, from start-up to multinational, on a growing number of high-profile, cross-border collaborations and patent litigation cases.

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For further information about this press release, contact Kathryn Hobbs on +44 (0)121 213 2397, Alexa Highfield on +44 (0)121 213 2396 or Matthew Purcell on +44 (0)121 213 2360

This press release may contain information of general interest about current legal issues, but does not give legal advice.