AstraZeneca, MRC deal

AstraZeneca and MRC renewed for two years a 2010 deal granting MRC Technology scientists access to compounds from the pharma’s compound library to identify drug targets to treat cancer, inflammation and diabetes. MRC Technology, an independent life science technology transfer charity, will also contribute selected compounds from its compound library to produce a library of over 200,000 compounds available for screening against novel targets.

MRC will be responsible for screening the libraries, hit validation and optimization of selected compounds, as agreed by a joint steering committee. The partners retain ownership of their respective compounds, and individual projects chosen for further development will trigger option fees with research and license agreements negotiated at that time. MRC declined to disclose financial details, and AZ could not be reached. ...