Astrazeneca’s £23m gene tie-up

ASTRAZENECA has agreed to plough €25m (£23m) into gene messenger drug development, through a tie-up with German biotech Ethris.

The FTSE 100 drug maker will pay Munich-based Ethris the sum upfront, with further payments and royalties possible depending on development progress. Ethris, which was founded by two German scientists in 2009, specialises in RNA drugs, which instruct human cells to produce therapeutic proteins.

The research alliance with Astrazeneca and its biotech division Medimmune will focus on asthma and other respiratory diseases.