Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

AstraZeneca PLC / Eccogene (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

2023 · Licensing/Option · $2.0B · Complete

Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.

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The coverage arc

Nov 09, 2023 BioPharma Dive Bullish

AstraZeneca is paying a Chinese biotech $185 million up front, and as much as $1.8 billion more in milestone payments, to license an experimental obesity pill.…

Nov 09, 2023 STAT News Neutral

AstraZeneca is paying as much as $2 billion for Chinese rights to a Phase 1 experimental obesity pill, joining Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, and a growing list of…

Jun 02, 2026 Eccogene / BusinessWire (via BioSpace) Bullish

Multiple clinical trial data for elecoglipron (AZD5004/ECC5004), an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist discovered by Eccogene, to be presented at ADA 2026. VISTA and…

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AstraZeneca licensed global rights (ex-China) to ECC5004 from Eccogene in November 2023, an investigational oral once-daily small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist for obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic conditions. Eccogene received $185M upfront with up to $1.825B in clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones plus tiered royalties. The asset, now named elecoglipron (AZD5004), has since de-risked materially: it advanced from Phase 1 at deal signing to two completed Phase 2b trials -- VISTA in obesity/overweight (NCT06579092, n=310, completed Nov 2025) and SOLSTICE in type 2 diabetes versus semaglutide and placebo (NCT06579105, n=406, completed Dec 2025). Per AstraZeneca's FY2025 results (Feb 2026), both trials met their primary endpoints, supporting progression to Phase 3, with full Phase 2 data presented at the ADA Scientific Sessions on 8 June 2026. The readouts validate the original thesis -- a differentiated oral small-molecule entry into the GLP-1 obesity/T2D race -- though detailed efficacy magnitude vs. Eli Lilly's orforglipron and Novo's oral semaglutide remained to be benchmarked at ADA.

Key facts

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
AstraZeneca PLC / Eccogene (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (this deal)2023$2.0B
AstraZeneca PLC / Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited2019$6.9B100
AstraZeneca PLC / KuDOS Pharmaceuticals Limited2005$210M98
AstraZeneca PLC / Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.2020$39.0B86
AstraZeneca PLC / Acerta Pharma2015$4.0B86
AstraZeneca PLC / Amgen Inc.2020$2.3B84
AstraZeneca PLC / MedImmune Inc.2007$15.6B82

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