AstraZeneca and Adelaide collaborate on drug discovery

Global biopharma company AstraZeneca has formed an agreement with Adelaide Research and Innovation (ARI), the University of Adelaide’s commercialisation arm, which will provide an opportunity for researchers at the university to collaborate with industry-leading scientists to develop new medicines.

The collaboration will see AstraZeneca pass 50 of its drug compounds to university researchers, who will use them to study new therapies. It is based on AstraZeneca’s Open Innovation platform, which takes its new and existing drug compounds out of the company’s laboratories and into the hands of research centres around the world.

In return for first rights for AstraZeneca to commercialise any discovery that the researchers make, the university will receive access to optimised compounds, technologies, multidisciplinary science, services and know-how, with the prospect of joint publications in high-profile journals and the opportunity to see ideas develop into treatments. ARI Deputy Director Dr Jane Rathjen said, “It’s a win-win situation — plus, the community stands to benefit from potential new drugs.”

AstraZeneca and ARI will also agree to fund successful research proposals that result from the partnership which have the potential to expand the reputation of the University of Adelaide and South Australia as a centre for medical research excellence. Concept proposals across all disease areas will be considered; however, the five therapeutic areas that are more likely to be funded include: cardiovascular and metabolic disease, oncology, respiratory/inflammation, infection and vaccines, and neuroscience.

“Furthering the boundaries of science is at the core of what AstraZeneca does,” said Paul Spittle, company president for AstraZeneca Australia, “so we’re absolutely delighted to be supporting University of Adelaide researchers who have the potential to find exciting new developments in medicine thanks to this collaboration.”