Cancer Research Technology (CRT) has granted Affitech A/S exclusive rights to a CRT patent application to develop and use therapeutic antibodies that recognize and block the function of CCR4, a protein found on certain tumors (including early and late stage cervical cancer and oesophageal cancer).

Cancer Research scientist Frances Balkwill was first to discover that CCR4 is present on cancer cells in various solid tumors and was a promising target for new drugs to treat a range of cancer types. Cancer Research Technology holds a patent application based on this research and Cancer Research UK has funded further research to prove that CCR4 is a valuable therapeutic target.

In addition, Cancer Research Technology, Affitech, and Queen Mary’s University of London  have signed a collaborative agreement to provide pre-clinical validation for Affitech’s AT008 program with the aim of proving its potential as a new drug program to treat cancer using techniques developed in Balkwill’s laboratory. Affitech will fund this effort.

This license deal combines Cancer Research UK’s knowledge in chemokine research with the development of Affitech’s existing AT008 antibody program. It will open new avenues of research and development for potential therapies which could increase survival for patients with various cancers.

Release Date: April 27, 2011
Source: Cancer Research Technology (CRT)