Medical Journal Houston Vol. 10, Issue 10, January 2014 | Page 15

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January 2014

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PHARMACEUTICAL
FOREFRONT

The University of Texas MD Anderson
Cancer Center and Pfizer will collaborate
in the development of immune-based
approaches to cancer treatment, the
first such agreement made through
MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program
immunotherapy platform.
“The pioneering work of platform leader
Jim Allison on why tumors evade the
immune system has provided patients with
a new class of medicine that can activate
the immune system to attack cancer and,
in some patients, bring about cure. Cancer
immunotherapy is the most exciting and
promising advance in the cancer field
today,” MD Anderson President Ronald
DePinho, M.D., said.
“Pfizer’s strong experience in immunology
and cancer therapeutics is an outstanding
match for the talent and capabilities available
through MD Anderson’s immunotherapy
platform,” he continued. “This agreement
also recognizes our substantial investment
in resources, expertise and immunotherapy
leadership in the past year under our Moon
Shots Program.”
MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program is
an ambitious effort to dramatically reduce
cancer deaths, starting with six moon shots
that target eight cancers and are backed
by several platforms – infrastructure,
technology or expertise – that support
research efforts.
The three-year agreement is designed to
accelerate the progress of immune-based
treatments to cancer patients and to
more efficiently identify and exploit new
combination therapies, as well as biomarkers
to guide and monitor treatment.
“This collaboration offers a unique
opportunity to work directly with recognized
pioneers in the rapidly advancing field of
cancer immunotherapy,” said Jaume Pons,
Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Pfizer’s
Rinat biotech unit. “We look forward
to partnering with the researchers and
clinicians in the Moon Shots Program to
potentially bring new treatment approaches
to cancer patients.”
“Pfizer’s Rinat unitis a leader in antibody
drug development and has a strong track
record of scientific innovation, making it
an excellent partner for our first alliance,”
said Allison, MD Anderson chair of
Immunology and executive director of the
immunotherapy platform.
In December, the journal Science
designated cancer immunotherapy as its
2013 Breakthrough of the Year, noting
Allison’s leadership in the field, The

MD Anderson teams up with Pfizer to
advance cancer immunotherapy
Economist named Allison winner of its
2013 Innovations Award for Biosciences
and he received a $3 million Breakthrough
Prize in Life Sciences from the foundation
of the same name launched last year by
internet and social media entrepreneurs. 
MD Anderson’s immunotherapy platform
has enhanced and increased the institution’s
capabilities in expertise, technology

and techniques since Allison’s arrival in
November of 2012.
Allison’s basic research and subsequent
drug development established immune
checkpoint blockade, a new treatment that
takes the brakes off of immune T cells,
freeing them to combat cancer. The drug
ipilimumab (Yervoy) became the first ever
approved for late-stage melanoma, with

more than 20 percent of patients achieving
complete responses for five years and longer,
unheard of results for the disease.
Patrick Hwu, M.D., chair of Melanoma
Medical Oncology is co-director of the
platform.   Translational physician-scientist
Padmanee Sharma M.D., Ph.D., associate
professor of Genitourinary Medical
Please see PHARMACEUTICAL page 19

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