Merck, Cancer Research UK, ICR Team up for Cancer Drug Discovery
Germany’s Merck has now formed a multi-project alliance with Cancer Research UK and The Institute of Cancer Research, London, to discover and develop new anticancer therapies.
They will be working on three independent research projects from target hit discovery to preclinical candidate nomination, to advance the discovery and development of potential new cancer drugs and biomarkers.
The new arrangement comes at a time when Merck is pressing the accelerator on cancer research, and particularly cancer immunotherapy, whilst exiting other areas such as biosimilars.
Under the terms of the deal, Merck has worldwide rights to take molecules discovered through the collaboration forward into clinical development. Cancer Research UK and the ICR will receive milestone payments based on the achievement of research and development, regulatory and sales goals plus royalty payments on net sales of future products discovered or developed under the agreement. Any payments made to Cancer Research UK and ICR will be invested into future lifesaving research.
“We hope that through the diverse projects in this collaboration, we can identify molecules that are effective against a number of different tumor types. Together we can create innovative new treatments for the benefit of patients,
” Raj Chopra, Ph.D., director of the Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit at ICR, said in a statement.“This collaboration with Merck and one of Cancer Research UK’s major drug discovery units will help accelerate the development of potential new therapies for cancer patients,” said Iain Foulkes, Cancer Research UK’s executive director of research and innovation, in a statement. “It is an exciting example of how successful academic networks and the scale of industry can combine to advance scientific and clinical discoveries.”