Cancer Research Horizons and Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, have expanded collaboration to help overcome checkpoint therapy resistance

Cancer Research Horizons, the innovation arm of Cancer Research UK, and Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading  science and technology company, have expanded their alliance focused on the discovery of small molecule and antibody drug candidates to include novel targets that have the potential to modulate T-cell dysfunction and overcome resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

The partnership interrogates a portfolio of novel CD4/CD8 targets involved in T-cell dysfunction and regulating the anti-tumour immune response as potential new therapeutic targets. The collaboration leverages the drug discovery and drug development expertise and capabilities at Cancer Research Horizons’ Therapeutic Innovation labs.

Under the agreement, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, funds target validation activities, and has an option to progress a predefined number of targets into drug discovery and development. In return, Cancer Research Horizons is eligible for preclinical, clinical and regulatory milestone payments with a potential aggregate value of €100m and tiered royalties on product sales.

“We are excited to partner with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, to tackle one of the biggest challenges in clinical oncology: the resistance to immunotherapies,” says Hamish Ryder, CEO of Therapeutic Innovation at Cancer Research Horizons. “This collaboration underscores our unique position to identify, derisk and progress discoveries coming from our network of 4,000 funded researchers. We look forward to exploring the potential of these novel targets and to potentially developing more efficient immunotherapy treatments for cancer patients.”

The targets were originally identified by Professor Segio Quezada and his team at UCL Cancer Institute as part of the Cancer Research UK-funded TRACERx study. Preliminary findings were published in Nature Cancer in 2020¹. Cancer Research Horizons has identified additional CD4/CD8 targets from a high-throughput fluorescence-activated cell sorting CRISPR screen at the Functional Genomics Centre, which may be included as part of the expanded collaboration.

ENDS

¹Ghorani E et al. The T cell differentiation landscape is shaped by tumour mutations in lung cancer. Nat Cancer 2020; 1:546–561.

Cancer Research Horizons is the innovation engine of Cancer Research UK – the world's largest charitable funder of cancer research. We bring together world-leading minds, bold ideas and the right partners to bridge the gap between academic research and taking drugs to market. We focus on the tougher, more profound ideas that can lead to true innovation, translating them into effective treatments and diagnostics for cancer patients. 

To date, we've played an instrumental role in forming over 60 spin-out companies. We've helped bring 11 cancer drugs to market, borne out of Cancer Research UK's pioneering research. Through these drugs, we have enabled in excess of 6 million courses of treatment for cancer patients across the world. 

With access to Cancer Research UK's network of 4,000 exceptional researchers, and £400+ million of annual research spend, we're a powerful partner in the fight to conquer cancer. By uniting our commercial partnerships and therapeutic innovation capabilities, Cancer Research Horizons is uniquely placed to support translational funding, entrepreneurial development, licensing and collaboration, spinout creation, and offer a full spectrum of drug discovery and clinical capabilities. 

Every penny we make goes back into funding the next bold steps, to help bring forward the day when all cancers are conquered. 

For more information and to get in touch with the team, visit cancerresearchhorizons.com

At £14m, TRACERx (Tracking Cancer Evolution through therapy (Rx)) lung study is the single biggest investment in lung cancer research by Cancer Research UK. Taking place over ten years, we believe the translational research programme is the first study to look at the evolution of cancer in real time and immense detail. Researchers follow patients with lung cancer all the way from diagnosis through to either disease relapse or cure after surgery, tracking and analysing how their cancer develops. TRACERx is led by UCL (University College London) via the Cancer Research UK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence and also supported by the National Institute for Health Research, University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre, Francis Crick Institute and the Rosetrees Trust.