Astellas and Cancer Research UK announce new oncology alliance

Astellas has announced a new oncology-focused research partnership with Cancer Research UK and its commercial arm Cancer Research Technology.

The aim of the alliance will be to find new drug targets for various forms of cancer. The collaboration will commence with a two-year project to find promising new therapy options for pancreatic cancer.

Initially, the partners will be seeking to identify and then validate the best possible drug targets to block the autophagy pathway in pancreatic cancer cells. Astellas has an exclusive licence to progress the most promising candidates through further drug discovery and development.

This comes as part of a wider strategy launched by the company in May 2013 to form alliances with research organisations around the world.

Dr Kenji Yasukawa, senior vice-president and chief strategy officer at Astellas, said: "The aim is to establish links with overseas researchers who have ideas that possess a high level of novelty and creativity."

Based in Tokyo and founded in 1923, Astellas is a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer with almost 18,000 employees worldwide.