Another setback for Astra

Concerns about Anglo-Swedish drugs giant AstraZeneca's pipeline are likely to increase as the company abandoned work on its anti-depressant treatment TC-5214, which it developed in conjunction with US peer Targacept.

The two companies said top-line results from the remaining Phase 3 studies did not meet the primary endpoint and regulatory filing will not be pursued.

As a result of this setback, AstraZeneca will take an intangible asset impairment charge of $50m, the remaining value in relation to TC-5214.

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AstraZeneca and Targacept signed a collaboration and licence agreement for the global development and commercialisation of TC-5214 back in December 2009. The initial goal for the collaboration was to develop TC-5214 as an adjunct treatment for major depressive disorder in patients with an inadequate response to a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor or serotonin/norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitor.

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