Merck Sharp and Dohme to study cancer therapies alongside Selvita

Merck Sharp and Dohme has announced a new cancer research alliance with Selvita, an oncology-focused drug discovery company headquartered in Poland.

The three-year collaboration will validate new therapeutic concepts in the field of oncology, with the aim of delivering potential first-in-class small molecules as lead candidate drugs for multiple oncology indications.

Both companies will contribute funding and resources to support the collaboration, as well as contributing expertise in target validation, bioinformatics, medicinal chemistry, in vitro and in vivo biology, and toxicology.

This collaboration will centre on a joint portfolio of discovery projects, builds on the framework that the two companies have developed during a two-year partnership in cancer metabolism that originated in 2013.

Andree Blaukat, head of the translational innovation platform oncology at Merck Sharp and Dohme, said: "We are excited about our new collaboration and to continue our productive relationship with Selvita and to build upon our collective efforts of the last two years."

Cancer therapies are one of the company's key strategic research priorities, with its recently launched drug Keytruda being a prominent area of focus at the moment.