The alliance between Jubilant Biosys and AstraZeneca is making good progress, according to the Indian company.

Jubilant  has announced "another successful delivery of an early-stage milestone in the pain therapeutic area" of its collaboration with the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker. The pact, initiated two years ago in the neuroscience field, has now been expanded to cover cardiovascular and metabolic diseases; the deal focuses on "the delivery of a steady stream of preclinical outcomes to AstraZeneca", said the Bengaluru-based group.

AstraZeneca CNS chief Christof Angst noted that partnering is "a strategic priority" for the firm "at all stages of drug discovery and development".  He added that "by combining our strengths with those of our partners, we are in a better position to deliver new medicines".

While Russia and China are the emerging markets it is putting most focus on, AstraZeneca has a number of partnerships in place in India. These include branded generics alliances with Intas Pharmaceuticals, Aurobindo Pharma and Torrent Pharmaceuticals,

Earlier this week, Jubilant and another partner, Endo Pharmaceuticals, said that they have achieved "a late-stage discovery milestone" in their joint programme focused on cancer.