[UK] Cancer charity starts research programme with drug borrowed from industry

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BMJ 2008;336:1155 (24 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.39588.708125.DB

Cancer charity starts research programme with drug " borrowed " from industry

Mayor

1 London

The charity Cancer Research UK announced this week that it has started work on

its first clinical research programme in a new partnership arrangement that

enables it to " borrow " candidate drugs that have been shelved by drug companies

so it can further explore their potential.

The cancer research charity and its commercial arm, Cancer Research Technology,

is starting the programme with the clinical development of a tyrosine kinase

inhibitor, AZD0424, provided by the drug company AstraZeneca.

Under the terms of the agreement, which is called a clinical development

partnership, the charity will conduct early clinical trials at no cost to the

company. If the drug looks promising, the company retains the option to develop

and market the drug, but the charity will get a share of any resulting revenue

(BMJ 2006;332:1112; doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7550.1112).

Full story

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/336/7654/1155-c?etoc