AstraZeneca and Horizon Discovery agree oncology alliance

AstraZeneca has entered into a new collaboration with Horizon Discovery that will focus on the research and development of new oncology treatments.

The companies' new research, collaboration and license agreement will see them explore a range of oncology-relevant genotypes, with the aim of identifying and validating a number of novel drug targets.

Horizon will investigate a defined set of genotypes for synthetic lethality, carrying out in vitro screening activities using its proprietary siRNA Platform and performing other tests and assessments, while AstraZeneca has exclusive rights to any validated targets.

This deal is the second cancer-focused collaboration between AstraZeneca and Horizon, following an earlier agreement announced in April 2013.

Susan Galbraith, head of the oncology innovative medicines unit at AstraZeneca, said: "AstraZeneca’s strategy of collaborating with innovative organizations like Horizon allows us to broaden our oncology research efforts and complement our own internal capabilities."

This comes after the firm announced that it has taken control of an experimental treatment, cyclin-dependent kinase 9, from Probiodrug earlier this week.