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The acquisition is expected to help accelerate the development of a new type of targeted treatment for leukaemia, with the potential to improve outcomes for patients. It is also hoped that this treatment could be expanded to other cancers.
The scientific foundations of the programmes were built on discoveries made by Oxford researchers including Oleg Fedorov, Cassandra Adams, Gilian Farnie, Kilian Huber and Paul Brennan in the Centre for Medicines Discovery; Christian Siebold in the Division of Structural Biology (STRUBI) at the Nuffield Department of Medicine; and Thomas Milne and Nicholas Crump in the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at the Radcliffe Department of Medicine.
The research was further strengthened by complementary expertise across the University, including the Dunn School of Pathology, notably the groups of Professor Monika Gullerova and Professor Ivan Ahel. The work was also supported by the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), a global public-private partnership focused on open science.
The move from academic discovery to early-stage drug development began within Lab282, a £13 million partnership between the University of Oxford, the drug discovery company Evotec and Oxford Sciences Enterprises (OSE), and Bristol Myers-Squibb. Lab282 was created to bridge the gap between research and drug discovery, supporting promising projects as they move towards commercialisation.
Commenting on the role of Lab282 as an incubator, Professor Paul Brennan of the Centre for Medicines Discovery said:
We set out to create a model that could reduce risk early by combining strong biology with high-quality chemistry, while keeping future development in mind. Lab282 was designed to help move promising academic science into a setting where it could be developed further with industry partners. Amgen’s investment in the science demonstrates how the Lab282 model can progress promising academic research to a stage attractive to global pharmaceutical partners.
This translational work laid the foundations for the creation of a new company to take the programme forward. Dark Blue Therapeutics, an Oxford spinout, was founded to advance this research towards new medicines - focused on developing first-in-class small-molecule therapies that target cancer-driving proteins previously considered difficult to treat.
Professor Thomas Milne explains:
The company is developing a novel approach to treating leukaemia by targeting proteins that drive cancer growth in aggressive blood cancers, including acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Our research showed that this approach can inhibit the growth of leukaemia cells while largely sparing healthy cells, raising the prospect of a more effective and better-tolerated treatment.
The lead drug candidate developed by Dark Blue Therapeutics is now in preclinical development, with studies underway to enable testing in patients. Amgen’s acquisition of the company will provide the resources and expertise needed to take the programme into clinical trials.
John Pollard, the Chief Scientific Officer at Dark Blue and a visiting Professor of Drug Discovery at the University, reflected:
The discovery of this exciting new class of drugs demonstrates the enormous potential in the Oxford ecosystem that can be realised when groundbreaking disease insights from the University’s world-leading scientists are leveraged by expert industrial drug hunters in a truly collaborative manner.
The Amgen deal reflects the strength of Oxford’s wider innovation ecosystem, combining world-leading science, incubator support, spin-out expertise, and industry partnership. Together, these elements create a framework through which promising biomedical research can be advanced from discovery to commercial development, supporting the progression of future therapeutic programmes emerging from Oxford.