AstraZeneca and AVANIR Announce Global Alliance to Discover and Develop Novel Reverse Cholesterol Transport Enhancing Compounds

AstraZeneca PLC today announced an exclusive global
licensing and research collaboration agreement with AVANIR
Pharmaceuticals (AMEX:AVN) to discover, develop and commercialise
Reverse Cholesterol Transport (RCT) enhancing compounds for the
treatment of cardiovascular disease.
   RCT enhancing compounds are designed to directly increase the flow
of lipids from blood vessel walls by promoting a natural process known
as Reverse Cholesterol Transport. Compounds that enhance this pathway
may potentially reverse existing vascular disease in comparison to
current agents that have to date only been shown to prevent disease
progression.
   "AstraZeneca has a strategic commitment to find new treatments for
dyslipidaemia, and Reverse Cholesterol Transport is an exciting
therapeutic area for us. We wish to build on our existing strengths
and this alliance will open up new opportunities for AstraZeneca in
the treatment of cardiovascular disease," said Gunnar Olsson, Head of
the Cardiovascular Therapy Area, AstraZeneca.
   Under the terms of the agreement, AVANIR will receive an upfront
payment of $10 million. In addition, AVANIR is eligible for milestone
payments totaling $330 million, contingent upon achievement of
development and regulatory milestones and on achievement of sales
targets, together with the payment of stepped royalties rising from
single digit to low double digit rates, dependent on sales achieved.
AstraZeneca will assume responsibility for development and for both
product discovery and development costs, with both parties
contributing scientific expertise in the research collaboration.
   "Reverse cholesterol transport is an attractive target for the
development of drugs for cardiovascular disease. AstraZeneca has a
long-standing record of achievement in development and
commercialization in this area. Their leadership in cardiovascular
therapies makes them the ideal partner to maximize the potential of
this programme," said Marty Emanuele, Ph.D., Vice President of
Business Development, AVANIR Pharmaceuticals.
   RCT is a natural process that involves the flow of cholesterol
from tissues, including the walls of blood vessels, and its subsequent
transport to the liver for metabolism and removal from the body. The
process is complex, involving several steps, and a variety of
specialized transporter molecules and carrier proteins to take
cholesterol out of body tissues into the liver. Once cholesterol is
taken up by the liver, it can then be transported to the gall bladder
for excretion.
   Enhancement of the natural reverse cholesterol pathway is
promising because it is likely to provide a more effective process for
protecting blood vessels from vascular disease induced by abnormal
blood lipids. Currently available agents are effective in prevention
of the fuller development of additional lipid rich plaque, but have
yet to be proved effective in regressing or decreasing the existing
plaque burden. Enhancing the RCT pathway may be more effective at
reducing pre-existing vascular disease.
   AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged
in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of
prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It
is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare
sales of over $21.4 billion and leading positions in sales of
gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, respiratory, oncology and
neuroscience products. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $9.6
billion healthcare business with more than 12,000 employees.
AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global)
as well as the FTSE4Good Index. For more information about
AstraZeneca, please visit: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/
   AVANIR Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company focused on
developing and commercializing novel therapeutic products for the
treatment of chronic diseases. AVANIR's product candidates address
therapeutic markets that include central nervous system and
cardiovascular disorders, inflammation, and infectious disease. AVANIR
recently submitted to the FDA the last modules of its "rolling" new
drug application for Neurodex(TM) for the treatment of pseudobulbar
affect. Additionally, AVANIR has initiated a Phase 3 clinical trial of
Neurodex in patients with diabetic neuropathic pain. Recently, AVANIR
partnered its preclinical research and development program for
inflammatory disease with Novartis. The Company's first commercialized
product, Abreva(R), is marketed in North America by GlaxoSmithKline
Consumer Healthcare and is the leading over-the-counter product for
the treatment of cold sores. Further information about AVANIR can be
found at www.avanir.com.

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