Aveo Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel cancer medicines has signed a second oncology-focused collaborative agreement with Merck & Co. Inc. The parties will use Aveo's human response prediction platform to identify patient populations likely to be responsive to a number of investigational cancer drugs currently being developed by Merck. The collaboration is focused on identifying genetic profiles that correlate with drug response to more effectively guide the clinical and market development of Merck's cancer compounds.
Aveo's first collaboration with Merck, which began in November 2003, focused on the use of Aveo's genetically-defined cancer models for new target discovery and validation. The first milestone from this ongoing collaboration was achieved earlier this year when Merck exercised its option rights to the first novel small molecule target discovered and validated in Aveo's models and comprehensive cancer biology programme, informs a company release.
"Merck is committed to bringing targeted cancer therapeutics to market. Aveo's human response prediction platform represents a potentially significant advancement for identifying those subgroups of cancer patients who will likely respond to specific drugs, and could improve the efficiency and productivity of oncology drug development," said Stephen H. Friend, executive vice president, advanced technology and oncology at Merck Research Laboratories.
Under the terms of this agreement, Merck and Aveo have established a two-year alliance to conduct preclinical studies on select cancer compounds using Aveo's human response prediction platform. Merck has exclusive rights to the data generated from the studies that relate to its proprietary compounds. Financial terms include an equity investment by Merck in Aveo, annual research funding for Aveo and the potential for milestone payments to Aveo.
"While recent successes in targeted therapies are promising for cancer patients, we have not yet reached the point where we can match these drugs to those patients who will respond most appropriately. For the first time, Aveo's platform affords the cancer drug development community with a preclinical system in which the genetic profile of such responsive and non-responsive populations can be studied. This knowledge has the potential to increase the efficiency and probability of success of drug development in oncology and, ultimately, to bring the right drugs to the right patients. We are very pleased to be working with Merck in this expanded relationship to build value in their current and future drug development programs," said Tuan Ha-Ngoc, president and CEO of Aveo.
Aveo's human response prediction platform is based on its proprietary, genetically-defined mouse models of human cancer. Each of these models is engineered to contain signature genetic mutations that are present in human disease.
In November 2003, Aveo Pharmaceuticals (formerly known as GenPath Pharmaceuticals Inc.) began a multi-year agreement with Merck & Co. Inc. to use Aveo's proprietary cancer models to collaboratively identify and validate novel targets for the development of small molecule cancer drugs.