MD Anderson Cancer Center, AbbVie announce cancer immunotherapy collaboration

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and AbbVie have announced a three-year collaborative agreement to choose and carry out preclinical and clinical studies in cancer immunotherapy.

“AbbVie has both identified new molecules and developed novel technology to hit key targets, with the objective of designing new immunotherapy for the benefit of patients,” Padmanee Sharma, MD, PhD, immunotherapy platform scientific director and professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and Immunotherapy at MD Anderson, stated in an AbbVie news release.

Existing immunotherapy drugs have significantly extended survival in patients with melanoma and lung cancer and are being tested in other cancer types, according to the release.

“Our agreements with companies such as AbbVie allow academic and industry scientists to work efficiently to move the science forward and extend this approach to more patients,” Jim Allison, PHD, executive director of the immunotherapy platform and chair of immunology at MD Anderson, stated in the release.

A joint scientific committee to decide on projects to pursue will be made up of two scientists each from AbbVie and MD Anderson. The collaboration will begin with projects driven by Abbive Biothrapeutics in the Sanf Francisco Bay area. Future projects will be based on the portfolio of oncology programs in the AbbVie Oncology pipeline, according to the release.

“Pairing MD Anderson’s cutting-edge preclinical, translational and clinical capabilities with AbbVies’s innovative discover and development programs accelerates our ability to deliver new therapies that can help transform the lives of people affected by cancer,” Michael Severino, MD, executive vice president, R&D and chief scientific officer of AbbVie, stated in the release.

“With this collaboration agreement in place, we can move quickly to design and implement new studies, clinical trials and exchanges of reagents and take other actions without having to reach new, separate agreements,” Sharma stated in the release.

Reference: www.abbvie.com