Evotec and Yale University to collaborate on developing cancer therapies

Published: 18-Dec-2013

Will explore novel mechanisms, targets and compounds with potential to interfere with DNA repair to identify new targets for drug discovery and development


Evotec has entered into a TargetDBR research collaboration with Yale School of Medicine, which aims to identify novel mechanisms, targets and compounds that have the potential to interfere with DNA repair.

The German firm will work with the laboratories of Professor Peter Glazer and Professor Ranjit Bindra at Yale.

DNA repair mechanisms allow cancer cells to cope with extensive genome rearrangements as well as to escape conventional radio- and chemotherapy and thus have potential applications in many cancer indications. This is the first collaboration to be announced as part of Evotec’s open innovation alliance with Yale.

TargetDBR is based on systematic cell screens designed to identify DNA repair inhibitors and their mechanisms of action. The application of Evotec’s high-content cellular screening platforms allied to chemoproteomics-based target deconvolution will enable the identification not only of novel DNA repair inhibitors but also of novel tractable targets in DNA repair pathways.

The initial focus will be on increasing the effectiveness of glioblastoma brain tumour treatments but it is expected that the DNA repair inhibitors will also find application in many other cancer types.

Yale and Evotec will share potential commercial rewards, although financial details have not been disclosed.

Dr Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, said: 'Deficiencies in DNA repair mechanisms constitute not only initiating events leading to cancer but also provide potential therapeutic targets on the basis of the concept of synthetic lethality. We are very excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Peter and Ranjit to identify and develop novel classes of DNA repair inhibitors that have the potential to become highly effective therapeutics against difficult to treat cancers such as glioblastoma.'

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