Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will provide up-front and research support funding to the CACS as well as milestone and royalty payments upon market approval. The CACS will investigate drug targets using integrative and cross-species genomic analysis and stringent multi-level functional and clinicopathological validation testing. The CACS will work together with Merck to shepherd the drug assay development of lead compound discovery and then work together to test these drugs in CACS’s highly sophisticated model systems that closely replicate human disease. The collaboration will also evaluate tumor pathobiology and clinical outcomes to better pinpoint the tumor types most susceptible to the drug.
Stephen Friend, senior vice president and franchise head, Oncology, at Merck Research Laboratories, said: “Through this collaboration with Dana- Farber, we hope to establish an open and collaborative relationship through our common goal of advancing cancer treatment.”