AstraZeneca and Amgen have formed a major collaboration for the development and commercialisation of five monoclonal antibodies from Amgen’s clinical inflammation portfolio. The deal represents the latest attempt by AstraZeneca, which faces significant exposure to patent expiries on some of its best selling drugs, to strengthen its clinical pipeline. For Amgen, the deal provides the company with additional financial resources to advance its comparatively rich early-stage pipeline at a time when it needs to reduce its R&D expenditure.