CRUK to develop Astex’s protein kinase B inhibitor

Collaboration

Cancer Research UK has taken a compound owned by Cambridge-based Astex Therapeutics Ltd in its Clinical Development Partnerships programme under which the charity advances the development of products at no cost to the owners.

The compound in question, AT13148, is a protein kinase B inhibitor that was discovered in an earlier collaboration between the two partners using Astex’s fragment-based drug discovery technology. Under this new agreement Cancer Research UK’s Drug Development Office will take the product into formal preclinical development.

Victoria John, head of clinical partnerships at Cancer Research UK, said, “Entering into this partnership is an excellent example of how the charity can work with industry to help bring much needed new treatments to cancer patients.”

This work will be funded primarily by Cancer Research UK with the charity receiving a share of any revenues including a royalty on sales. While Astex maintains ownership of AT13148, the charity has the right to find a new home for it if, at any stage, Astex decided not to develop it further.

Cancer Research UK set up the Clinical Development Partnership programme in May 2006 in a bid to rescue promising compounds that were languishing on the shelves of pharma and biotech companies with other priorities, or too few resources, to take them forward inhouse. But it was two years before the first deal was agreed, with AstraZeneca plc in May 2008, for another kinase inhibitor. See, “Europe's largest cancer charity pushes new treatments to market”.

Harren Jhoti, CEO of Astex, said, “Given the productivity of our drug discovery approach, the challenge for Astex has been to find innovative ways to continue to fund the development of all of our compounds and the CDP programme clearly addresses that constraint. Our history of working with Cancer Research UK on AT13148 means they are uniquely placed to partner with us.”