Champions Oncology announced a strategic collaboration with AstraZeneca to develop novel cohorts of PDX models. These models will be used in AstraZeneca's oncology R&D programs in breast and lung cancer, in addition to being added to Champions' existing TumorGraft bank for translational oncology research for academic and industry customers. Champions' global network of collaborating sites will be leveraged to support this multi-year initiative.
These novel models will expand Champions' bank of estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) metastatic breast cancer and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutant non-small cell lung cancer PDX models. Both cohorts will focus on the metastatic, previously treated setting and will enable a better understanding of mechanisms of resistance, providing a critical platform to optimize drug development in these settings. Full clinical and molecular annotation will be available to enable model selection for testing innovative therapies, investigating new and existing pathways, and identification of biomarkers.
"This collaboration with Champions is allowing us to develop and characterize tumor models representing the drug refractory and drug resistant state, a surprisingly underserved space in cancer biology and drug development with most current cell line and PDX models being derived from diagnostic untreated patient samples,” Steve Fawell, VP and Head of Oncology Science at AstraZeneca, said. “They will be pivotal to understanding drug resistance mechanisms and the development of next generation drugs."