A technique pioneered by a team of Cambridge chemists and biochemists that speeds up drug discovery led to the founding of biopharmaceutical company Astex and the development of two successful cancer treatments – Kisqali for treating advanced breast cancer and Balversa for advanced bladder cancer. The drugs were developed using fragment-based drug discovery, which has since been adopted by most major pharmaceutical companies, leading to more than 40 compounds reaching clinical trials. Astex has generated a large contribution to the UK economy, both from drug sales and from its acquisition in 2013 for $866 million, and has resulted in approximately 140 jobs in Cambridge.
Added 8 November 2022