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ARTICLE | Company News

CRT Pioneer Fund, BACIT and Sareum to co-fund cancer compound

September 25, 2013 12:25 AM UTC

The Cancer Research Technology Pioneer Fund, Sareum Holdings plc (LSE:SAR) and investment company BACIT Ltd. (LSE:BACT) partnered to co-fund development of a checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) inhibitor program. The CRT Pioneer Fund received worldwide rights to the preclinical program, and is responsible for development and commercialization. The program originates from a 2005 discovery deal between the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), Sareum and Cancer Research U.K.'s Cancer Research Technology Ltd. (CRT) commercial arm. The partners expect the compound to enter clinical testing by year end 2014, with potential to treat a range of cancers, including bowel, pancreatic and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), neuroblastoma and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

ICR, Sareum and CRT will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and are eligible for milestones and royalties. If the program is sublicensed, Sareum would receive a share of the sublicense payments proportional to its investment under the deal. The company expects to commit up to L800,000 ($1.3 million) to the program for its fiscal year ending June 30, 2014. The parties, which said financial terms were not disclosed, could not be reached for additional details. ...