Date: 2011-03-25
Type of information: Services contract
Compound: screening of a selection of AstraZeneca’s chemical compound library
Company: AstraZeneca (UK) Senectus Therapeutics (UK)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: services
collaboration
Action mechanism:
Disease:
Details: Senectus Therapeutics has signed a deal to screen a selection of AstraZeneca’s chemical compound library to identify those which trigger a key element of cancer cell ageing – called senescence.
Senescent cells are those which after many rounds of cell growth and division enter a ‘sleep’ phase where the normal cell cycle is stopped. This blocks the uncontrolled growth and division of cells. It is a natural mechanism to prevent cancer. But cancer cells find ways to trick their way past this block and continue to grow and divide. Understanding the triggers to cell ageing may reveal molecular targets for completely new ways to treat cancer.
The Senectus consortium,*a group of Cancer Research UK experts in senescence, has developed a screening platform to identify compounds which trigger this cancer cell ageing process and also find potential new drug targets.
The deal will allow the consortium to screen a well characterised sub-set of AstraZeneca’s compound library to identify those which potentially trigger senescence. Thereafter the parties will decide how or if they want to progress individual compounds. Through this collaboration AstraZeneca has the opportunity to extend the agreement with Senectus to investigate any compounds with properties that may lead to future cancer treatments.
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