MedImmune has formed a partnership with the National Cancer Institute to develop cancer therapies that use the immune system or attack tumor cells to fight the disease.
The Gaithersburg-based biotechnology company, a subsidiary of British drugmaker AstraZeneca, and the institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, will be able to share personnel, facilities, equipment or other resources under the agreement announced Wednesday. The partnership lasts for three years.
They will collaborate on four research projects – two that study use of immunotherapy agents on mice and two that evaluate antibodies that attack tumor cells.
MedImmune officials said they will apply the cancer institute's scientists' expertise to the projects to help them translate the preclinical research into potential drugs or other therapies.
MedImmune officials said financial terms of the partnership would not be disclosed. National Cancer Institute officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
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