Morphotek in resarch deal with Ludwig ICR

Morphotek, a US subsidiary of Japan's Eisai, has signed a collaborative research agreement with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. The multi-year accord will fund research at LICR to develop model systems that can validate the role of novel pathways for human disease and conduct preclinical proof-of-concept studies to demonstrate the feasibility of employing antibodies to block these disease pathways, potentially leading to the development of novel therapies.

"This collaboration offers Morphotek novel technology and model systems to rapidly validate targets and potential therapeutic lead antibodies generated from our MORPHODOMA technologies," said Nicholas Nicolaides, chief executive of Morphotek. "The LICR research team has a proven scientific track record and technology for developing model systems, as well as the ability to test the activity of biological compounds for proof-of-concept at the preclinical stage. This collaboration will support our efforts to rapidly discover, develop and validate lead antibodies that can in turn be tested in clinical trials for a variety of potential disease indications," he added.