Dogma Therapeutics, a Viva Biotech portfolio company, has signed a contract for the acquisition of the oral PCSK9 programme of United Kingdom-based AstraZeneca, it was reported on Thursday.

The deal will allow Dogma to receive upfront and downstream funding related to global regulatory and commercial milestones.

Dr Zhixiong Ye, chief scientific officer at Viva Biotech, said, 'Viva Biotech has begun to incubate and invest in Dogma Therapeutics since 2017. It was an exceptionally rewarding experience for our team to have a close partnership with Dogma during the exciting discovery phase. An orally-bioavailable small molecule PCSK9 inhibitor will greatly impact the unmet medical needs of cardiovascular patients.'