Valeant Acquires Brodalumab from Astra-Zeneca Save

Reuters reports that Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (a Canadian Pharmaceutical company) is buying rights to AstraZeneca's late-stage experimental psoriasis drug, brodalumab, after it was dropped by codeveloper Amgen Inc in May. Amgen pulled out of the project because suicidal thoughts were observed in some patients taking the medicine, casting a shadow over its prospects.

Regulatory submissions in the United States and Europe for brodalumab in moderate-to-severe psoriasis are planned for the fourth quarter of 2015.

Brodalumab belongs to a class of drugs called IL-17 inhibitors that work by blocking a signaling pathway that plays a key role in inducing and promoting inflammatory diseases. Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the growth cycle of skin cells is accelerated.