Date: 2013-07-09
Type of information: R&D agreement
Compound: three pre-clinical and clinical oncology projects related to olaparib, AZD2014 and new candidates
Company: AstraZeneca (UK) the University of Cambridge (UK) Cancer Research UK (UK) the University of Manchester (UK)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: R&D
Action mechanism:
Disease: prostate cancer,pancreatic cancer, other cancers
Details: * On July 9, 2013, AstraZeneca has announced that it has entered into an agreement with the University of Cambridge and Cancer Research UK for a two-year collaboration on three pre-clinical and clinical oncology projects. This agreement with world-leading medical research institutions based in Cambridge, UK, aims to advance cancer research through the study of tumour mutations and new investigational therapies in prostate, pancreatic and potentially other cancers.
These collaborations are the first research collaboration AstraZeneca has established with Cambridge-based partners since its announcement that by 2016 its new UK-based global research and development centre and corporate headquarters will be located at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. This site on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus will bring together the company’s small molecule and biologics research and development activity focused on oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, respiratory, inflammation and autoimmune diseases and conditions of the central nervous system.
The alliance will bring together scientists from AstraZeneca’s small molecule and MedImmune’s biologics units and researchers across the region from the University, affiliated Institutes and the NHS, all of which are members of the Cambridge Cancer Centre. The three projects involve:
* Working with the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and the University of Cambridge Department of Oncology to evaluate a new technology that will allow clinicians to monitor the activity of a tumour – including its progression, response to therapy and the onset of drug resistance – through blood tests and without the need for biopsies. Based on the Cambridge Institute’s pioneering techniques and AstraZeneca’s treatment expertise, the aim of the collaboration is to use the tumour DNA present in a patient’s blood to better understand the genetic makeup of their cancer and therefore the right therapy to tackle it.
* Working with the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, the University of Cambridge Department of Oncology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and Cambridge University Hospitals to test the potential effectiveness of AstraZeneca’s investigational therapies olaparib and AZD2014 in high-risk prostate cancer patients who currently have a poor disease prognosis. The compounds will be tested in both pre-clinical models and early-phase clinical trials.
*Working with the Babraham Institute, the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and the University of Cambridge Department of Oncology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital to evaluate new therapeutic approaches for patients with pancreatic cancer, a disease with an extremely poor prognosis and few treatments available. The collaboration will focus on identifying the best drug combinations for AstraZeneca’s investigational compound selumetinib in pre-clinical models.
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