SiliconBeat

Map Pharmaceuticals of Mountain View said today it has suspended development of its drug candidate aimed at asthma in children after its development partner, AstraZeneca terminated its license agreement related to Unit Dose Budesonide. Earlier this year results from a Phase 3 clinical trial of the drug candidate failed to meet expectations in either of the doses evaluated when compared with a placebo.

“Physicians and parents continue to express a need for improved therapies for pediatric asthma that offer faster nebulization times, lower doses of steroid exposure, improved treatment compliance and reduced side effects when compared to currently available therapies.  said Map Pharmaceuticals Chief Executive Timothy Nelson in a statement, adding that the company is considering options for its pediatric asthma program moving forward, including the development of a next generation therapy using budesonide.

In February, AstraZeneca paid Map a nonrefundable upfront cash payment of $40 million under its licensing agreement related to the asthma treatment. The agreement had also called for a $35 million milestone payment payable upon the successful achievement the initial Phase 3 clinical trial, along with payments of up to $240 million as further milestones were met.

Map, a development-stage biopharmaceutical company that first went public in October 2007,  said it continues to focus on developing its migraine therapy known as Levadex, which it says achieved all four of the main goals in a recent Phase 3 clinical trial.