AstraZeneca shores up Cambridge move
pharmafile | July 11, 2013 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | AstraZeneca, Cambridge, research and development
AstraZeneca has cemented its position in Cambridge, the UK location of its purpose-built global HQ from 2016, by signing deals with medical institutions in the city to push forward oncology research.
‘Silicon Fen’ is fertile ground for pharma R&D, and the manufacturer is to work with the University of Cambridge and Cancer Research UK in a two-year collaboration on three pre-clinical and clinical projects.
Earlier this year the company promised more tie-ups with academic institutions “to increase our understanding of disease biology”, and the new deals focus on tumour mutations and new investigational therapies in prostate, pancreatic and, AstraZeneca says, perhaps other cancers.
Oncology is one of three core therapy areas – the other two are respiratory, inflammation & autoimmunity and cardiovascular & metabolic disease – into which AstraZeneca is going to put its effort and most of its money following the restructure of its global R&D operations.
“These are the first research collaborations AstraZeneca has established with Cambridge-based partners since announcing our intention to build a strategic R&D centre on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus,” said Susan Galbraith, head of AstraZeneca’s Oncology Innovative Medicines Unit.
The company’s new Cambridge facility will become AstraZeneca’s largest centre for oncology research worldwide, she added.
It has already announced it is to begin Phase III trials for its potential first-in-class oral poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib in platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer patients with BRCA mutations.
Trials of MEK inhibitor selumetinib for non-small cell lung cancer patients with KRAS mutations are at the same stage – and both these investigational products will feature in the new agreements.
AstraZeneca is teaming up with the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and the University of Cambridge’s Department of Oncology to evaluate a new technology to monitor tumour activity and response through blood tests rather than biopsies.
The manufacturer will also work with Cancer Research, the university, Addenbrooke’s Hospital and Cambridge University Hospitals to test the potential effectiveness of olaparib and AZD2014 in high-risk prostate cancer patients.
Finally, AstraZeneca will collaborate with the Babraham Institute, Cancer Research, the university and Addenbrooke’s again to look at new therapies for pancreatic cancer, trying to identify the best drug combinations for selumetinib in pre-clinical models.
AstraZeneca has made no secret of wanting to push its Phase II biologics pipeline more quickly into late-stage programmes and has said it will also speed up development of several new molecular entities – action it believes could double its Phase III pipeline by 2016.
Apart from restructuring global R&D and putting a rocket under its Phase II pipeline, AstraZeneca’s strategic priorities are to drive on-market growth platforms, deliver on the promise of its biologics portfolio, launch a steady flow of speciality care products and – perhaps above all – to ‘dramatically simplify’ the business.
Adam Hill
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