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Astex Bags Another Cancer Deal With MSD, This Time For ‘Undruggable’ p53 Target

Gets $35m Upfront

 
• By Ayisha Sharma

The UK-based biotech will license its Pyramid platform to MSD to develop anticancer compounds targeting p53, a key transcription factor dubbed the ‘guardian of the genome’ that has proven highly complex and challenging to drug.  

guardian angel image
TP53 Has Been Described As The Guardian Of The Genome • Source: Shutterstock
Key Takeaways:

  • Astex could get up to $500m in milestones per program as well as tiered royalties on sales.

  • The p53 transcription factor is difficult to target because of its structure and specificity.

  • Astex believes its fragment-based approach could unlock understanding of mutated p53.

Astex Pharmaceuticals, Inc

Under the terms of the deal, the pharma major will get access to Astex’s proprietary fragment-based drug discovery platform, Pyramid, to develop compounds targeting several forms of the p53protein

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