BIND Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, and AstraZeneca have entered into a strategic collaboration to develop and commercialize an Accurin, a targeted and programmable cancer nanomedicine from BIND's medicinal nanoengineering platform, based on a molecularly targeted kinase inhibitor developed and owned by AstraZeneca.

The collaboration is based on emerging data suggesting that nanomedicines like Accurins selectively accumulate in diseased tissues and cells, leading to higher drug concentrations at the site of the tumor and reduced exposure to healthy tissues.

The companies will work together to complete Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies of the lead Accurin from a previously-completed feasibility program. AstraZeneca will have the exclusive right to lead development and commercialization and BIND will lead manufacturing during the development phase. BIND could receive upfront and pre-approval milestone payments totaling $69 million, and more than $130 million in regulatory and sales milestones and other payments as well as tiered single to double-digit royalties on future sales.

"One year ago, BIND started several feasibility projects with major pharmaceutical companies. Our collaboration with AstraZeneca is the first one completed and had very successful results,” said Scott Minick, president and CEO of BIND. “Due to the advanced nature of this program, we now plan to move an Accurin with optimized therapeutic properties quickly into product development."