More Industry Academic Alliances

We recently covered Twenty Industry-Academic Alliances in 2012.  In the past, we have also written extensively about other physician-industry and academic-industry collaborations.  After running our recent story, we came across several other alliances, discussed in further detail below, and will continue to cover such collaborations as they occur.    GlaxoSmithKline and University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) recently announced that it has gained rights to a preclinical program from the renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center, in a pact focused on antibodies that trigger immune attacks against cancer.  It’s the first major pharma deal for the center's Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS), which was set up last year to operate as a translational research unit that is akin to “a biotech embedded” in an academic setting, a spokesman for the center said in an email. The prized antibodies in the deal act on OX40 receptors on T cells, helping the ninjas of the immune system recognize tumor cells as enemies in need of an ass kicking.  Like all preclinical programs, the merits of the therapies must pass some initial tests before they advance to human clinical studies.  MD Anderson’s immune-triggering antibodies emerged from the research of Yong-Jun Liu, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues when he was professor and chair of MD Anderson's Department of Immunology.  He’s since moved on to become the chief scientist of the Baylor Research Ins...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs