AstraZeneca joins forces with Immunocore for cancer drug development project

AstraZeneca has announced that it has signed a deal with Immunocore for a project to research potential new treatments to treat the form of skin cancer known as melanoma.

The two pharmaceutical firms are planning to combine their expertise to produce new drugs to combat the disease and will be carrying out several phase Ib and phase II trials involving experimental medicines aimed at fighting the condition.

It will be AstraZeneca's biologics department MedImmune that is most heavily involved in the collaborative project with biotechnology business Immunocore.

Dr Ed Bradley, senior vice-president and head of the oncology innovative medicines unit at MedImmune, commented: "We are pleased to expand our partnership with Immunocore, a leader in the discovery and development of novel T-cell receptor-based drugs, to include this combination clinical trial in melanoma."

What's more, it was recently announced that former AstraZeneca scientific director Professor Sir John Bell would be joining the board of directors at Immunocore.