Bayer HealthCare and German Cancer Research Centre expand alliance

Bayer HealthCare has announced that it will be extending its successful strategic research alliance with the German Cancer Research Centre, supported by a joint annual investment of up to three million euros (2.57 million pounds) a year.

Scientists from both organisations will work together in a joint laboratory at Heidelberg's National Centre for Tumour Diseases in order to develop novel immunotherapies – drugs which selectively reactivate the body's own immune system to attack cancerous cells.

The lab will accommodate up to 12 members of staff, who will commence work on their first projects midway through the year.

Bayer HealthCare has worked alongside the German Cancer Research Centre for four years, with the 22 projects initiated so far having yielded a wide variety of promising results and data.

Professor Dr Andreas Busch, member of the executive committee of Bayer HealthCare and head of global drug discovery, said: "Bayer is committed to develop innovative therapies that can help people with serious diseases such as cancer to live longer and improve their quality of life."

This comes in the same week that Bayer presented new data on its oncology portfolio at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, which took place in Washington DC.