Japanese pharma Astellas is looking to offload a series of unwanted research projects ahead of Thanksgiving; if you want one, it’s made it very easy for you.
In what is an unusual move, it’s listed its more than half-dozen assets it has killed off internally under an online form called: “Contact for Potential Acquisition of Astellas’ R&D programs,” and, if you like what you see, simply register your interest (and presumably have a few million dollars to hand).
If you’re in the market for an R&D deal, there’s a lot to choose from: two anti-NGF monoclonal antibodies, including ASP6294, a pegylated Fab fragment (no Fc portion), which Astellas says is different compared to the anti-NGF mAb class (which has been beset with safety worries) in joint inflammation issues.
Then there’s midstage med ASP8232, a highly selective inhibitor of vascular adhesion protein -1 focused on diabetic kidney disease and other targets, as well as another midstage asset, ASP6981, which works as an α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor positive allosteric modulator and has been aimed at cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS).
The three other meds including a dopamine D1 receptor positive allosteric modulator, also for CIAS; a preclinical anti-human TIE2 Antibody for eye disease; and finally, an antibody against thymic stromal lymphopoietin receptor in phase 1 that can be used against “multiple inflammatory diseases.”