LONDON – Cancer Research Technology Ltd. (CRT) agreed to its third licensing deal in six weeks, signing up Merck Serono SA to take forward compounds that block the WNT cell-signaling pathway.

This follows earlier agreements with Forma Therapeutics Inc. to work together in the discovery of deubiquitinating enzymes and with Astrazeneca plc to co-discover inhibitors of (unnamed) proteins involved in DNA damage response.

"These deals show that people in the industry are starting to see the value of our model. Through the single portal of CRT you can get access to all UK cancer research; that single point of contact is very valuable," said Keith Blundy, CEO of CRT, the technology transfer arm of Cancer Research UK (CRUK), the largest cancer research charity in Europe.

The three deals, covering three areas of important, emerging, cancer biology, are exemplars of how the discovery and development model in pharma has changed in the wake of the patent cliff and the restructuring of in house R&D. "Industry wants to get hold of innovation, that is, new biology coming from academe. We provide the perfect point of access," Blundy told BioWorld Today. "We bring them world-leading research, and they don't have to do the legwork."

The deal with Merck Serono, of Darmstadt, Germany, is an extension of a recently completed four-year collaboration, in which the pharma company worked with CRUK-funded scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research, in London, and at Cardiff University, to discover molecules targeting the WNT-signaling pathway, which is critical to cancer cell proliferation in a number of types of tumor.

Now, in a two-year deal, Merck Serono has rights to develop molecules emanating from this first collaboration, which it will advance in preclinical development while working with CRUK scientists to identify biomarkers of target inhibition and for patient selection.

Through the agreement, Merck Serono was granted rights to all existing intellectual property generated in the four-year program and all future IP arising from the new alliance. CRT is getting an up-front payment, development milestones and royalties on any products that make it to market.

This consolidates what has proved already to be a fertile collaboration, and Blundy's expectation is that within the next two years research funded by CRUK on WNT over several years and carried out by different groups, will be poised for translation to the clinic.

The second deal, with Forma Therapeutics, is at an earlier stage and will see CRUK experts in deubiquitinating enzymes and their role in protein homeostasis paired with Forma's drug discovery capabilities.

"Forma has lots of very high throughput screening and big libraries, and can screen lots of targets in a way we can't do," Blundy noted. CRUK principal investigators will contribute targets and will ensure the most relevant screening technologies and assays are used for the selection of lead candidates. "When we get chemistry we will decide how to take it forward, making joint decisions in which everyone has an equal say," Blundy said.

As part of the deal, Forma will set up a number of Asset Discovery and Development companies into which programs will be vested, with Forma providing research funding and making payments as candidates advance.

The initiative has the potential to accelerate the understanding of biological applications of deubiquitinating enzymes, according to Steven Tregay, CEO of Forma. CRUK researchers "bring critical insights in this important area of biology and have track records in basic and translational research," he said.

For Blundy, the deal with Forma underlines the value of CRT as a single entry point to pre-eminent researchers in one of the hottest areas of cancer biology. "Don't forget Forma is based in Boston at the center of one of the world's biggest biomedical research hubs. But you couldn't do a deal like this in the U.S.; with one agreement we are providing access to five principal investigators in four research institutes," Blundy said, noting that the reputation CRT has built in technology transfer allows it to pull in researchers that are not funded by CRUK.

While Astrazeneca and CRT have signed a number of collaborations in the past, the latest agreement breaks new ground in giving CRUK scientists from the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research at Manchester University access to screen a potential target they have discovered against Astrazeneca's compound collection.

This is the first time an external group has been allowed to screen a target against Astrazeneca's libraries. The London-based pharma company will have first rights to negotiate a licence to any hits.

In a second part of the agreement, Astrazeneca will supply a target and some preliminary compounds, which scientists at Paterson will further refine. CRT will receive milestone payments and has the option to develop compounds if Astrazeneca chooses not to.

"Overall, these three agreements represent a very mixed bag, with different levels and types of involvement by CRT, ranging from traditional technology transfer to a more biotech-type arrangement in the Forma deal, where we are getting compensation for our people's effort and will get up-front and milestone payments," Blundy said.

CRUK also funds clinical research, and Blundy's next ambition is to start incorporating clinical development into CRT's deals.