AstraZeneca increases investment into cancer biomarkers
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
AstraZeneca has doubled its investment in Cancer Research UK's biomarker research programme. The project aims to assess whether AstraZeneca's drug candidates kill tumour cells and/or prevent angiogenesis – the growth of new blood vessels. The cash injection will allow the London-based charity to increase its capacity for biomarker discovery and evaluation, from 14,000 biomarker assays per year to up to 30,000 per year. The value of the investment was not disclosed. Meanwhile, Cancer Research UK presented results from a study at the NCRI Cancer Conference in Birmingham, UK, today, which found that levels of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) can be used to measure the effects of current lung cancer drugs. CTC levels were higher in the blood of patients whose cancer had spread, and dropped after chemotherapy.
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