Astex wins 5-year US grant for clinical development of cancer drug

Collaboration

Astex Therapeutics Ltd has announced the signing of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) to collaborate on the study of its small molecule HSP90 inhibitor, AT13387, for the treatment of cancer.

Over the next five years the NCI’s Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD) will work with Astex to evaluate AT13387 in multiple Phase I and Phase II clinical trials, both as a single agent and in combination, in patients with tumours that are expected to be sensitive to inhibition of HSP90.

In addition, pre-clinical studies designed to enhance the development of AT13387 will be pursued.

AT13387 is the third drug candidate arising from Astex’s fragment-based drug discovery platform to be approved for clinical trials, and is in a Phase I clinical trial in patients with solid tumours at three centres in Boston, Massachusetts. Studies in tumour models show that AT13387 is differentiated from other HSP90 inhibitors by its potency, pharmacodynamics, long tumour half-life and improved preclinical safety profile.

Cambridge, UK-based Astex has deliberately set out to finance its clinical development programmes through grants, and this is one of several large public awards it has received.