AstraZeneca teams up with Accent Therapeutics for cancer therapies

AstraZeneca will collaborate with Accent Therapeutics to discover, develop and commercialise transformative therapeutics targeting RNA-modifying proteins (RMPs) for the treatment of cancer.

This collaboration focuses on targeting RMPs, proteins that control many aspects of RNA biology and represents a new approach for addressing the process disruptions that can lead to cancer and can cause resistance to medicines. It combines AstraZeneca’s industry leading expertise bringing forward novel oncology medicines with Accent’s expertise as a leader in the biology, target identification and drug discovery of RMP-targeting therapies.

José Baselga, Executive Vice President, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca said: “The promise of RMP inhibition is a compelling area of exploration for AstraZeneca. With this collaboration, we will seek to identify novel targets and unlock the full potential of our medicines. We believe that the Accent team’s expertise in RNA-modifying protein biology and drug discovery complements AstraZeneca’s extensive research and development portfolio.”

Shakti Narayan, Chief Executive Officer, Accent Therapeutics said: “This collaboration leverages both AstraZeneca’s vast cancer expertise and resources and Accent’s rich pipeline of RMP therapeutic programmes to bring new and potentially life-changing medicines to patients. This collaborative effort will enable us to rapidly advance and achieve the rich therapeutic potential of these exciting programmes.”

Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Accent will be responsible for research and development activities for a nominated preclinical programme through to the end of Phase I clinical trials. Following completion of Phase I, AstraZeneca will lead development and commercialisation activities for the programme, with Accent having the option to jointly develop and commercialise with AstraZeneca in the US. AstraZeneca will also have the exclusive option to license worldwide rights to two further preclinical discovery programmes, for which Accent will conduct certain preclinical activities.