Tokyo-based Daiichi Sankyo Co. and Nashville, Tennessee-based Sarah Cannon Research Institute announced Monday a strategic collaboration to develop novel cancer therapies.
Daiichi Sankyo’s U.S. headquarters is based in Basking Ridge.
The partnership will combine Daiichi Sankyo’s ability to develop novel cancer agents with Sarah Cannon’s ability to design and optimize clinical trials.
“We look forward to partnering with Sarah Cannon to accelerate drug development globally for patients with cancer who need more innovative therapies,” Tom Held, vice president, head, antibody drug conjugate task force, oncology research and development, Daiichi Sankyo, said. “We believe that this collaboration will help to make an impact in the field of cancer research, as we combine our operational and scientific expertise to focus on the development of targeted therapies, such as antibody drug conjugates. We look forward to initiating with Sarah Cannon joint clinical activities in the U.S. and Japan as quickly as possible.”
“Sarah Cannon’s expertise and focus on oncology drug development provides a solid platform to enable us to partner with Daiichi Sankyo on exploring these promising new agents,” Johanna Bendell, chief development officer, Sarah Cannon, said. “We greatly value the trust that Daiichi Sankyo has placed in our team and are excited to offer novel therapies for our cancer patients.”
Under the agreement, Sarah Cannon will provide clinical development services to several of Daiichi Sankyo’s translational development programs. The collaboration will also enable faster patient enrollment in clinical trials through Sarah Cannon’s research network.
