Horizon Discovery (Horizon) today announced it has signed a non-exclusive commercial agreement with Array BioPharma Inc. (Array) to evaluate a novel target for its activity and selectivity on a specific cancer pathway using its X-MAN technology.
X-MAN ‘Mutant And Normal’ human isogenic cell-lines are the first genetically-defined in vitro models of human cancer and non-cancerous cell-types that are being widely adopted to accelerate the discovery of novel ‘personalised’ medicines and their optimal assessment in clinical trials. Under the agreement, Array will evaluate a panel of X-MAN cell lines, each carrying a specific mutant cancer gene and their matched normal parental genetic backgrounds.
These lines are intended to assist Array in gathering information relating to the potential utility of their compounds. Array will share certain data during the course of the evaluation period which will begin in October 2009. Dr. Darrin M Disley, Commercial Director and Chairman of Horizon says, “We are rapidly getting our novel ‘patient-relevant’ X-MAN cancer models into real world drug discovery research programs and are excited to be working with a forward-thinking company like Array. The evaluation program is expandable and will generate additional data on the ability of X-MAN cell lines to find novel ‘personalised’ cancer therapies.”
