Sanofi and Curie-Cancer agree ovarian cancer alliance

Sanofi has agreed a new alliance with the Curie Institute's Curie-Cancer partnership that will see them collaboratively developing new therapies for ovarian cancer.

The three-year collaboration will identify new therapeutic targets that could form the basis of treatments for the disease, with the aim being to revisit the basic biology of ovarian cancer through a translational research approach.

A large collection of cryopreserved tumour samples has been assembled by the Curie Institute that are well characterised clinically, histologically and biologically, opening the door to a better understanding of the molecular alterations that characterise different forms of the condition.

Using technology platforms developed by the institute, the team will be looking to sequence molecules expressed by the tumour genome, compare the sequences with healthy tissues from the same patients and then clarify and validate the nature of any differences.

Dr Debasish Roychowdhury, senior vice-president and head of Sanofi Oncology, said: "We hope this type of long-term collaboration will ultimately open up perspectives for new therapeutic options for women with this disease."

Last month, the company reported positive data from a trial of a new oncology agent called SAR302503, which is being evaluated as a treatment for myelofibrosis.