Nigel Blackburn

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 16, 596 (2017). doi:10.1038/nrd.2017.172 In 2007, the charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) launched its Clinical Development Partnerships (CDP) initiative to run trials of deprioritized anticancer candidates that still offered glimmers of promise. 10 years on, these reprioritization efforts have yielded mixed results. Despite generating some promising clinical data, none of their biopharma partners has as yet fully reprioritized any candidates. There is still hope for these drugs, although likely with new sponsors. In the case of an Aurora kinase inhibitor that was initially discovered by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), for example, Nemucore has since licensed CRUK's data and further development rights. Now, however, smaller biotech firms are increasingly turning to the CDP for help with clinical trials of lead drug candidates. Nigel Blackburn, CRUK's Director of drug development, discusses the CDP's changing strategy with Asher Mullard
Source: Nature Reviews Drug Discovery - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: News and Analysis Source Type: research