(Sharecast News) - Drugmaker AstraZeneca has entered into an exclusive license agreement with CSPC Pharmaceutical to advance the development of a pre-clinical novel lipid-lowering therapy.

AstraZeneca said on Monday that under the terms of the agreement, it will receive access to CSPC's pre-clinical candidate small molecule, YS2302018, an oral Lipoprotein (a) disruptor, with the aim of developing this as a novel lipid-lowering therapy with potential in a range of cardiovascular disease indications alone or in combination.

The London-listed group stated the asset further strengthened its cardiovascular portfolio to help address the "major risk factors" driving chronic cardiovascular disease.

AZN's Sharon Barr, said: "This asset is an important addition to our cardiovascular pipeline and could help patients to more effectively manage their dyslipidaemia and related cardiometabolic diseases.

"Given the scale of unmet need, with cardiovascular disease being a leading cause of death globally, advancing novel therapies that can be used alone or in combination to effectively address known risk factors and advance patient care is particularly important and a key part of our strategy."

As of 1015 BST, AstraZeneca shares were down 0.042% at 11,733.10p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com