SCHERING, ASTRAZENECA TO COLLABORATE IN ONCOLOGY

German drugmaker Schering AG and UK-based AstraZeneca have formed an alliance to co-develop and jointly commercialize Schering's selective estrogen receptor downregulators (SERDs) for the treatment of breast cancer.

Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will lead the clinical development and Schering will lead the non-clinical and process development as well as manufacturing activities. The companies will co-promote the product. All development and commercialization costs and global profits will be shared equally. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The growth and progression of many breast cancers is stimulated by estrogen. The actions of this hormone are mediated by estrogen receptors (ERs) that are present in breast cancer cells, and the signaling pathways initiated by ERs are some of the best understood in oncology. There are several existing targeted approaches that either inhibit the action of ERs or prevent the synthesis of estrogen. However, resistance to anti-hormonal treatment is a major problem in the treatment of breast cancer and most advanced tumors eventually become resistant to this type of therapy. SERDs are a new class of compounds that increase the rate at which the ER protein is degraded.