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Foundation Medicine, AstraZeneca to ID Genetic Mutations for Cancer Drug Development

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Foundation Medicine today announced a deal with AstraZeneca aimed at predicting a patient's response or resistance to targeted medicines.

The firms are partnering to identify genomic mutations in cancer-related tumor genes that may prove helpful to AstraZeneca in developing new therapies for patients. Foundation Medicine also was granted right of first negotiation for developing potential diagnostic products.

According to Susan Galbraith, vice president and head of the AstraZeneca Oncology Innovative Medicines Unit, the collaboration will allow the drug firm to "identify tumor-specific defects and alterations that can be used for patient segmentation."

Financial and other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"We are helping companies like AstraZeneca achieve deeper insight into their programs and trials with our unique cancer expertise and our ability to provide genomic information that can impact clinical treatment decisions," Michael Pellini, president and CEO of Foundation Medicine, said in a statement. "Together, we expect to enable a more individualized, targeted approach to cancer drug development and clinical trials."

The partnership is the most recent in a string of deals that Cambridge, Mass.-based Foundation Medicine has forged in recent months with drug firms. It follows a collaboration with Eisai last month, Clovis Oncologyin August, and Novartis in June.