• First AstraZeneca DEP^® candidate under the multiproduct license advances towards the clinic  
• US$2 million milestone payment triggered
• Progress further validates the broad applicability of the DEP^® platform 

Melbourne, Australia; 20 April 2017: Starpharma (ASX: SPL, OTCQX: SPHRY) today announced the achievement of a key preclinical milestone for its DEP^® drug delivery technology in combination with a proprietary oncology molecule from AstraZeneca. The advance triggers a US$2 million milestone payment under Starpharma’s multiproduct DEP^® license. This is the final preclinical milestone prior to advancing the first AZ DEP^® candidate to clinical trials and follows the completion of extensive testing and scale up activities.

Under the multiproduct AstraZeneca DEP^® license, Starpharma is eligible to receive potential development, launch and sales milestones of US$124 million for this AZ DEP^® product, and US$93.3 million for each subsequent qualifying product. Starpharma also will receive tiered royalties on net sales on the resultant AstraZeneca DEP^® products.

Commenting on the milestone payment, Starpharma CEO, Dr Jackie Fairley, said: “We are delighted to announce the achievement of this important development milestone by AstraZeneca triggering the further payment. Both parties are extremely impressed by how well the DEP^® candidate is performing and we look forward to seeing this initial compound advance to the clinic. What’s particularly gratifying is the advancing AstraZeneca DEP^® candidate provides further validation of the utility and consistent performance of the DEP^® platform, which we also see in other partner programs and our expanding internal programs”.

"Achievement of this important development milestone is indicative of the success we have seen in our DEP^® program in partnership with Starpharma. It is a highly productive collaboration and the DEP^® technology has enabled us to advance a very exciting novel oncology agent towards the clinic. We’re continuing to investigate the potential of DEP^® more broadly across molecules within our oncology portfolio.’’

Dr Susan Galbraith,
SVP, Head of the Oncology Innovative Medicines Unit at AstraZeneca

Under the 2015 multiproduct DEP^® license, AstraZeneca funds all development and commercialisation costs for the AstraZeneca DEP^® products under the agreement. The agreement enables the development and commercialisation by AstraZeneca of compounds directed at a defined family of targets using Starpharma’s DEP^® drug delivery technology. 

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