AstraZeneca and University of Sussex announce new research alliance

AstraZeneca has announced a new cancer drug research partnership with the University of Sussex, with work to be funded by the Wellcome Trust.

Researchers from the participating organisations will be working to develop a portfolio of new drugs that exploit the human DNA damage response (DDR) system in order to kill cancer cells. Many cancers are known to take advantage of defects within these pathways.

The University of Sussex will harness its detailed understanding of the DDR mechanism to identify drugs that can maximise DNA damage or prevent its repair. Since healthy cells have an intact DDR system and would not be affected by these compounds, these drugs could have a lower toxicity and fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapies.

AstraZeneca will have the first option to develop any compounds discovered through this collaboration.

Susan Galbraith, senior vice-president and head of AstraZeneca's innovative medicines and early development unit, said: "We are excited about the opportunity of working with scientists at the University of Sussex to discover new compounds with the potential to work at various stages along the DDR pathway."

This comes after the firm announced plans to begin a new clinical study as part of its Moderna messenger RNA collaboration last week.