Boehringer Ingelheim and MD Anderson Cancer Center to study pancreatic cancer

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced a new collaboration with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in the field of pancreatic cancer therapeutics.

The partnership is focused on developing innovative medicines for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), leveraging MD Anderson's unique understanding of potential drivers of the disease, plus Boehringer Ingelheim's experience in drug discovery and development.

PDAC is one of the most dangerous forms of cancer due to its typically late detection and resistance to available standard-of-care therapy, meaning there is a strong need for effective medicines directed against this target.

The collaboration will seek to identify and develop therapeutic concepts in novel target areas, as well as finding biomarkers that can accurately identify patients who would respond to potential new therapies.

Clive Wood, senior corporate vice-president of discovery research at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "We are excited to be able to work with the leading cancer research and care institution in the world to develop therapies for patients with this devastating cancer."

This comes after the firm announced partnerships with four major scientific partners in the field of inflammatory bowel disease research last month.