Astellas Pharma and Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research have entered into a strategic collaboration to accelerate translational and clinical oncology research.

The collaboration leverages Astellas’ unique scientific, translational and clinical expertise and JFCR’s strength as a world-class comprehensive cancer research center to quickly advance the development of novel treatments for patients with cancers that are resistant to current therapies.

Under the agreement, projects will be selected jointly based on shared interest and expertise. Selected projects will generate new translational and clinical data for Astellas’ early-stage pipeline assets, which will be integrated with Astellas’ own data to accelerate and refine these programs.

Through this collaboration, Astellas is committed to strengthening translational science and clinical research in order to deliver innovative new medicines. For JFCR, the collaboration provides early access to Astellas’ pipeline, along with additional resources and expertise to bring these therapies to patients.

Tadaaki Taniguchi, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Research and Development Officer, Astellas said, “Collaborations with leading academic centers are at the heart of Astellas’ strategy to deliver valuable medicines through scientific innovation. We are pleased to collaborate with JFCR, one of the largest and well-known cancer centers in Japan, to help advance our oncology pipeline. With a diverse set of early-stage oncology assets spanning multiple cutting-edge modalities, we are committed to delivering the next generation of therapies with outcomes that matter for patients. Through our partnerships, we can collectively enhance the insights and expertise that are critical for accelerating the development of new and innovative treatments for patients in need.”

Toshio Asano, Ph.D., Chairman, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, said, “Bringing new treatments to patients is our mission, and we believe that partnership between industry and academia is essential to drive drug development. We are very pleased to partner with Astellas, which has an innovative pipeline, to accelerate translational research and development. Astellas, with its outstanding global pharmaceutical R&D capabilities, and JFCR, with its unique organization that integrates the hospital and research divisions to enhance drug discovery, will work together to fulfill our mission of ‘Achieving Better Cancer Control’ and “Well-being of People Everywhere”.