Date: 2014-09-23
Type of information: R&D agreement
Compound: histone deacetylases (HDACs), epigenetics
Company: Forma Therapeutics (USA - MA) Moffitt Cancer Center (USA - FL)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology - Immunological diseases
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Details: * On September 23, 2014, Forma Therapeutics and Moffitt Cancer Center announced a collaborative research initiative and exclusive license option agreement focused on histone deacetylases (HDACs) and epigenetics. This research initiative will emphasize exploring mechanisms of action and differentiation profiles of potential therapeutic drug candidates and will provide critical insights for treating relevant patients with HDAC modulators. Under this agreement, FORMA will pair its drug discovery team with Moffitt’s clinical and translational scientists in an open-access business framework. In addition to conducting joint research studies, the framework for this epigenetics alliance includes explorations into novel targets and other emerging epigenetic mechanisms through “Moffitt Innovative Studies.” This strategic directive provides Moffitt researchers with the opportunity to identify exciting new areas in the epigenetics arena managed via an internal peer-review process. This partnership structure will provide access to in vitro and in vivo biological systems, as well as anonymized patient samples for functional profiling. The team will explore identification and characterization of non-histone HDAC substrates to fully understand the role of selective HDAC inhibitors on immune and cancer cell function and to evaluate bioactivity in applicable disease models. The alliance will be co-led at Moffitt by Ed Seto, Ph.D., senior member, Department of Molecular Oncology; and Eduardo M. Sotomayor, M.D., Susan and John Sykes Endowed Chair in Hematologic Malignancies, senior member and chair, Department of Malignant Hematology.
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