C4X Discovery Holdings PLC (AIM:C4XD) has reached what has been described as a "significant milestone" after receiving an US$11 million payment under its US$402 million deal with pharma giant AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN).
Specifically, the financial landmark marks the progression of the NRF2 Activator programme, created by C4XD and outlicensed to AZ.
The deal with the Anglo-Swedish drug major included an initial upfront payment of US$2 million to the AIM-listed group and consisted of a series of developmental and commercial milestones.
The plan is to create an oral therapy for inflammatory and respiratory diseases, focusing particularly on chronic respiratory disease.
"This significant preclinical milestone payment marks the progress AstraZeneca has made in driving the NRF2 Activator programme forward," said C4XD's chief executive Clive Dix.
"NRF2 is a challenging target and this achievement provides further validation of our ability to generate differentiated, quality molecules in immuno-inflammation.
"We believe that our unique approach can deliver transformative oral therapies for patients suffering from immuno-inflammatory diseases. This is a great start to our year and we are confident of seeing further progress across our entire portfolio in 2024."