AstraZeneca and M. D. Anderson Renew Cancer Research Collaboration
Alliance extended for a further five years
WILMINGTON, Del. and HOUSTON, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- AstraZeneca and The
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center today announced they have
renewed their collaboration to integrate pre-clinical and clinical research
with a view to speeding up access to new medicines of potential benefit to
cancer patients.
The collaboration facilitates interactions between physicians and
scientists in both organizations to combine resources and expertise in disease
intervention whilst providing flexibility to work in a variety of ways and
accelerate the development of new treatments. It is unusual in its focus on
pre-clinical research and the transition to clinical trials and was the first
of its kind for both institutions.
Since its launch in 2005, the collaboration has utilized AstraZeneca's
early development portfolio to generate over two dozen joint research
projects. Both parties intend to build on these by extending the collaboration
for a further five years and broadening its original focus from aerodigestive
diseases (head and neck cancers and lung cancer) to include targets with
potential in a variety of cancer settings.(1)
Brent Vose, Vice President of AstraZeneca's Oncology Therapy Area said:
"AstraZeneca is committed to the research and development of new, targeted
anti-cancer therapies to improve the lives of cancer patients.
"We have a number of promising compounds in development and look forward
to seeing the results of some key studies throughout the next year.
"Our collaboration with M.D. Anderson has proven our ability to speed up
the drug development process without compromising quality and we look forward
to building on our joint efforts to date."
Close cooperation in areas of common interest is essential to meet the
challenge of safe, accelerated drug development according to Robert C. Bast
Jr., M.D., Vice President for Translational Research at M. D. Anderson who
said: "Earlier access to drugs destined for the clinic has permitted the
identification of biomarkers and combinations with existing agents that will
permit individualization of cancer treatment.
"In an atmosphere of trust and collaboration, it has been possible to
eliminate unnecessary delays in moving drugs into the clinic. In one case, we
reduced the time to initiate a Phase I clinical trial by 3 months, while fully
meeting regulatory requirements.(2)
"For patients with cancer, delays are unacceptable. We look forward to
continuing our relationship with AstraZeneca to make even more rapid progress
in evaluating drugs that are likely to benefit our patients."
AstraZeneca's collaboration with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has formed
the benchmark for a number of subsequent collaborations with institutions in
the USA, Europe and Asia. Similarly, M. D. Anderson has since entered into
alliance relationships with other pharmaceutical and biotech companies and
modelled those after the AstraZeneca agreement.
While the specific terms of the renewed collaboration remain confidential,
it covers the sharing of intellectual property, M. D. Anderson's rights to
publish research results and funding commitments by AstraZeneca.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the
research, development, manufacturing and marketing of meaningful prescription
medicines and supplier for healthcare services. AstraZeneca is one of the
world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of
$29.55 billion and is a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular,
neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infectious disease medicines. In the
United States, AstraZeneca is a $13.35 billion dollar healthcare business with
12,200 employees committed to improving people's lives. AstraZeneca is listed
in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.
The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as
one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care,
research, education and prevention. M.D. Anderson is one of only 41
Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Institute. For
six of the past nine years, M.D. Anderson has ranked No. 1 in cancer care in
"America's Best Hospitals", a survey published annually in U.S. News and World
Report.
