Rigel, AstraZeneca strike potential $100M asthma drug deal

AstraZeneca will license an experimental asthma treatment from South San Francisco’s Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a potential $100 million deal, Rigel said Tuesday.

Initially, Rigel (NASDAQ: RIGL) will receive only $1 million upfront in the worldwide licensing deal for the inhaled drug, called R-256. But Rigel could receive an additional $8.25 million in early milestone payments by the end of 2013, the company said.

Preclinical studies of R-256 indicate that it could improve lung function for patients with moderate to severe chronic asthma.