July 3 (Reuters) - Summit Therapeutics ( SMMT ) and

AstraZeneca ( AZN ) are discussing a partnership deal worth as

much as $15 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing

people familiar with the matter.

Under the potential deal, AstraZeneca ( AZN ) could license Summit's

experimental lung-cancer treatment, ivonescimab, the report

said.

Summit did not immediately respond to Reuters request

seeking comment, while an AstraZeneca ( AZN ) spokesperson declined to

comment.

A deal between the companies could include an upfront

payment of several billion dollars to Summit and milestone

payments later on, Bloomberg News said.