CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Foundation Medicine, Inc. announced today a multi-year collaboration with AstraZeneca to identify alterations found in cancer-related tumor genes that may predict a person’s response or resistance to targeted medicines. Working with Foundation Medicine to reveal these genomic alterations may help AstraZeneca to research new medicines for people with cancer. Under the terms of the collaboration, Foundation Medicine was also granted right of first negotiation for the development of potential diagnostic products.
Susan Galbraith, Vice President and Head of the AstraZeneca Oncology Innovative Medicines Unit said, “Our scientific understanding of cancer and the pathways driving tumour growth enables us to focus on which people are most likely to respond to our medicines. This collaboration with Foundation Medicine will help us to identify tumour-specific defects and alterations that can be used for patient segmentation.”
“AstraZeneca has a strong commitment to understanding the patient-to-patient variations that may impact the efficacy of therapeutic candidates,” said Michael J. Pellini, M.D., president and chief executive officer, Foundation Medicine. “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. Together, we expect to enable a more individualized, targeted approach to cancer drug development and clinical trials.”
About Foundation Medicine
Foundation Medicine is a molecular information company dedicated to a transformation in cancer care in which treatment is informed by a deep understanding of the genomic changes that contribute to each patient’s unique cancer. The company’s initial clinical product, FoundationOne™, is a fully informative genomic profile to identify a patient’s individual molecular alterations and match them with relevant targeted therapies and clinical trials. Foundation Medicine’s molecular information platform aims to improve day-to-day care for patients by serving the needs of clinicians, academic researchers and drug developers to help advance the science of molecular medicine in cancer. For more information, please visit www.foundationmedicine.com.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines for gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation, oncology and infectious disease. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. For more information please visit: http://www.astrazeneca.com.
Foundation Medicine® is a registered trademark, and The Molecular Information Company™ and FoundationOne™ are trademarks, of Foundation Medicine, Inc.