AstraZeneca and CSPC Pharmaceutical expanded their partnership with another kidney drug discovery collaboration valued at up to $1.7 billion. AstraZeneca will pay CSPC a $30 million upfront contribution to jointly discover and develop two kidney disease drug candidates. The pact follows AstraZeneca’s earlier, large biobucks-style collaboration with CSPC filed within the past six months, signaling that the companies want to deepen pipeline coverage in kidney disease rather than rotate to new partners. For AstraZeneca, the move adds incremental bets in a therapeutic area where disease burden and unmet need remain high; for CSPC, it reinforces its role as a go-to Chinese partner for discovery-to-development work.