AstraZeneca and CRUK partner on drug trial
pharmafile | May 31, 2013 | News story | Sales and Marketing | AstraZeneca, CRUK
AstraZeneca is partnering with Cancer Research UK to develop a new oncology medicine that targets a number of different cancers.
The drug, called AZD3965, has been developed by AstraZeneca and targets monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1), which is essential in cell metabolism.
Blocking this transporter limits cancer cells’ ability to generate energy, and decreases their capacity to survive. CRUK believes it could target a number of cancers.
The trial will be undertaken by Cancer Research UK’s National Institute of Health Research Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, which is based at the Newcastle University. There will also be another trial at a yet undisclosed UK location.
Around 63 cancer patients will take part in the first Phase I clinical trial of the compound to see if it is safe and effective for cancer patients.
CRUK’s drug development office is sponsoring, funding and managing the trial, whilst AstraZeneca is providing the drug.
Trial lead Professor Ruth Plummer, Cancer Research UK clinician at the Northern Institute of Cancer Research at Newcastle University, said: “I’m excited to open this trial of a completely new type of cancer treatment, which continues our drive for the most effective new treatments to give patients the best chance of surviving this dreadful disease.
“It’s heart-breaking for cancer patients when the drugs have stopped working and they have run out of options. But we hope new drugs will be able to save their lives in the future.”
Susan Galbraith, head of the oncology innovative medicines unit at AstraZeneca, said: “Targeting tumour cell metabolism represents a novel and exciting approach to potentially treat cancer. AstraZeneca is delighted to be working with Cancer Research UK to investigate the utility of AZD3965 which is aimed to address the needs of cancer sufferers.”
Research partnerships
The drug has been developed through Cancer Research UK’s Clinical Development Partnerships (CDP) scheme, a joint initiative between Cancer Research UK’s drug office and Cancer Research Technology.
The aim of the initiative is to progress promising anti-cancer agents – which pharma companies do not have the resources to progress – through early phase clinical trials.
The scheme allows pharma firms to keep the background rights to their programmes while enabling Cancer Research UK to take on early development work, to see if there is a benefit to cancer patients.
There are currently eight drugs in the CDP portfolio – including a multipeptide vaccine, a monoclonal antibody and other molecularly targeted drugs.
Five treatments have already successfully entered trials with others scheduled to open in 2013. One of these includes another AstraZeneca drug, AZD0424, which began Phase I testing for a range of cancers in January.
Dr Nigel Blackburn, director of drug development at the DDO, said: “This is the fifth drug from our CDP programme to reach clinical trials – without the scheme it simply might not have been possible to provide this drug to patients.
“We’ll continue to build on these successes to accelerate the development of further treatments though new trials of drugs, which otherwise may not have reached patients for many years.”
Ben Adams
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