Apollo and Oxford University enter drug discovery and development collaboration

The latest collaboration marks Apollo’s sixth agreement with a research institution

Apollo Therapeutics and the University of Oxford have entered into a drug discovery and development collaboration to translate breakthroughs by biomedical researchers at Oxford.

As part of the deal, Apollo will identify and assess novel, validated therapeutic targets from Oxford’s researchers to potentially become important new medicines, while Oxford researchers will gain access to therapeutic development expertise and programme funding from Apollo.

Apollo’s drug discovery experts will help identify the medicines with the most potential to transform the standard of care globally by supporting the development of new medicines across areas including oncology, immunological and inflammatory disorders.

Furthermore, programme funding from Apollo will help to provide more access to clinical trials for patients, as well as deliver faster routes to market for new medicines from Oxford’s researchers.

Commenting on the collaboration, Peter Kyle, science and technology secretary, department for science, innovation and technology, University of Oxford, said: “Together, Apollo and Oxford University could deliver new medicines to help us tackle cancer, autoimmune disease, and more, improving and saving thousands of lives.”

Dr Mairi Gibbs, chief executive officer, Oxford University Innovation, commented: “With the support of the research commercialisation team at Oxford University Innovation and our investment partners, we want to speed up the development of more life-saving medicines to help patients most in need.”

This latest collaboration marks Apollo’s sixth agreement with a university or academic research centre, further bolstering its scalable research and development platform for the discovery and development of new medicines.

“We are now working together with six of the world’s top universities and research centres to transform the standard of care in major commercial markets based on breakthroughs in biology and basic medical research made by scientists at these institutions,” said Dr Richard Mason, chief executive officer, Apollo.

Other research institutions include the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London, King’s College London and the Institute of Cancer Research.