PharmaTelevision - Cancer Research Technology: Driving Cancer Drug Development

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Video title: Cancer Research Technology: Driving Cancer Drug Development

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In this programme Fintan Walton talks to Dr Keith Blundy, CEO of Cancer Research Technology, the drug development and commercialisation arm of Cancer Research UK. Having described the relationship between Cancer Research UK and CRT, Dr Blundy goes on to explain that CRT’s role goes beyond drug discovery to source, develop and commercialise drugs in order to achieve their ultimate aim of increasing patient benefit. He talks of the business strategies and future plans for CRT including how the company intends to cope with a lack of potential partners in the UK to ensure that it manages to achieve its goals.

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Cancer Research UK's activities and functions in drug discovery and development.

Fintan Walton:

Hello and welcome to PharmaVentures Business Review here live in London. On this show I have Keith Blundy, who is Chief Executive at Cancer Research Technology. Welcome to the show.

Keith Blundy:

Thanks Fintan.

Fintan Walton:

Keith, Cancer Research Technology is the technology transfer arm of the business unit of Cancer Research UK and we going to talk about that particular aspect of Cancer Research UK, but before we do that could you just give me and what is little bit of introduction into Cancer Research UK's activities itself and where does that fit in relation to both drug discovery and drug development?

Keith Blundy:

Sure. And Cancer Research UK is the largest independent funder of Cancer research in the world. It spends over 350 million pounds a year on research and a proportion of that goes into drug discovery and also development through our clinical trials activities. So there are a number of drug discovery groups housed throughout the UK Research Community principally there are two major ones, one in Newcastle and one in Sutton that's part of the Institute Cancer Research. CRT is also part of that drug discovery strategy and we will go on and talk about that. We are also hoping to announce in the next 12 months the establishment of the couple at least two more drug discovery groups being set up that are other parts of our major research institutes.

Fintan Walton:

Right. So how it actually for how a Cancer Research UK actually functions from a drug discovery point of view and development of view is that it is it's got its own research laboratories, its own research institutions, but it also funds into specific laboratories in the universities and research institutions?

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Keith Blundy

Chief Executive Officer

Dr Keith Blundy was made CEO of Cancer Research Technology (CRT) in 2007 after nine years with the company during which he held several roles including Chief Operations Officer. At CRT Dr Blundy has been involved in a number of high profile transactions, including the licensing of a programme targeting Hsp90 to Vernalis, which is now partnered with Novartis and due to enter clinical trials. He is chairman of the US subsidiary and led the establishment of CRT in Australia. Before joining the company in 1998 he had spent ten years in R&D management and business development in agricultural biotechnology. He was Director of KuDOS Pharmaceuticals, now a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca and was instrumental in the formation of Chroma Therapeutics and Biotech Research Ventures, CRT's Singapore partner. He holds a BSc in Genetics from Leeds University, a PhD from the John Innes Institute and an MBA from the London Business School. During post-doctoral studies in the US he was a Fulbright Scholar.

Cancer Research Technology

Cancer Research Technology Ltd (CRT) is a technology transfer and drug development company which is owned by Cancer Research UK. Founded twenty years ago its Headquarters and R&D facilities are now located in Central London, with a US subsidiary in Boston, MA. CRT works to identify, protect, develop and market new cancer therapies, diagnostics and technologies by working in partnership with research scientists in academia and in industry. The company aims to maximize the benefit to cancer patients by facilitating cancer research and drug development worldwide. In conjunction with Cancer Research UK, CRT has set up the Clinical Development Partnerships in order to increase the number of successful cancer drugs available by taking greater numbers of potential candidates into clinical development. The scheme focuses on working with biopharma companies that have to prioritize which compounds they take into clinical development, hence shelving the continued development of large numbers of promising agents.