Pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Schering AG on Friday announced an agreement to jointly develop and promote AztraZeneca's experimental breast cancer treatment drug SERD, Reuters reports (Reuters, 9/15). According to AFX/Forbes, SERD is in a class of drugs that aims to regulate estrogen receptors. Many breast cancer tumors are fueled by estrogen (AFX/Forbes, 9/15). According to a Schering AG release, the agreement stipulates that AstraZeneca will lead clinical development of the drug and Schering will head up manufacturing and non-clinical development (AFP/Yahoo! News, 9/15). All costs and profits related to the drug will be shared equally by the two companies. Exact financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed (Schering AG release, 9/15).

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