Oxford, UK, 29th August 2014 Oxford Cancer Biomarkers Ltd (OCB), the UK-based company developing tests that allow medicines to be personalised for the benefit of the cancer patient, has today announced an agreement with Daiichi-Sankyo for biomarker discovery, with the potential for further collaboration on validation and development of resulting biomarkers.
OCB will work with a Daiichi-Sankyo cancer drug to discover biomarkers that have the potential to predict patients that will or will not respond to the drug. Under the terms of the agreement, Daiichi-Sankyo has an option to license biomarkers from the programme.
Nick La Thangue CEO of Oxford Cancer Biomarkers, commented: “The discovery and development of biomarkers of drug response as a basis for developing companion diagnostic tests is becoming an essential component of cancer drug development, clinical trials, regulatory approval and commercialisation. With more targeted treatments being made available for defined patient populations, the need for companion diagnostics is growing. We are delighted to be working with Daiichi-Sankyo on this important program.”
Oxford Cancer Biomarkers uses its proprietary platform, CancerNav® and ToxNav to rapidly generate predictive biomarkers for cancer drugs. It has successfully proven its platform from biomarker discovery through to clinical validation.
About Oxford Cancer Biomarkers
Oxford Cancer Biomarkers translates ground-breaking scientific discovery into predictive biomarker diagnostic products that allow medicines to be personalised for the benefit of the cancer patient. Oxford Cancer Biomarkers is a spin-out of the University of Oxford and has strong links with the Medical Sciences Division in Oxford University. The company was founded by Nick La Thangue, Ph.D., Chair of Cancer Biology at Oxford University and David Kerr, CBE, D.Sc., M.D. FMedSci, Professor of Cancer Medicine at Oxford University. Its major investor is Quintiles with whom it also has a strategic relationship in the biomarker space.
Contact
Oxford Cancer Biomarkers Ltd
Tel: +44 1865 784743
About Daiichi-Sankyo
For more information please visit: http://www.daiichisankyo.com/