Extended collaboration between CBCS and AstraZeneca Open Innovation

The SciLifeLab unit Chemical Biology Consortium Sweden (CBCS) and AstraZeneca Open Innovation (AZ-OI) have renewed their collaboration. This extends an agreement that since 2017 has given Swedish researchers access to AstraZeneca’s phenotypic compound libraries and expertise in screening and data analysis.

This academic–industry partnership has already shown its value. With support from CBCS’s chemical biology resources and AstraZeneca’s unique compound collection, several research teams across Sweden have advanced their projects:

• Glioblastoma research at Karolinska Institutet: Professor Arne Östman and his group identified potential molecular targets involved in tumor development by studying how glioblastoma cells interact with astrocytes
• Neuroblastoma research at Karolinska Institutet: Researchers Kasper Karlsson and Malin Wickström explored drug-induced differentiation, resulting in a list of promising compounds and targets now under further investigation
• Adenovirus research at Umeå University: Professors Mikael Elofsson and Magnus Evander combined chemistry and virology to screen compounds against adenoviruses, gaining new insights into virus–host interactions

Strengthening Sweden’s research ecosystem through continued academic–industry collaboration

“The collaboration with AZ-OI provides a unique opportunity to combine academic research questions with access to industry resources and expertise. Ownership of the results remain entirely with the researchers. This allows our users to strengthen their research in a way that is both flexible and powerful,” says Anna-Lena Gustavsson, Director of CBCS.

“The collaboration with CBCS generates unique insights into novel biology through close partnerships with researchers across Sweden. By leveraging the capabilities of the CBCS screening facility, AstraZeneca’s compound collection can be tested on complex assays at scale to explore novel disease targets and mechanisms, through mutually beneficial collaborations” says Pamela Hill, Head of AstraZeneca Open Innovation.

With the agreement now extended for another four years, researchers will continue to benefit from access to AstraZeneca’s resources. The program focuses on AstraZeneca strategic disease areas Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, Respiratory & Immunology, as well as Oncology. It has already shown that the combination of academic ideas and industry resources can lead to scientific breakthroughs that would otherwise be difficult to achieve.

Applications for novel collaborative screens are encouraged through AstraZeneca Open Innovation (openinnovation@astrazeneca.com).

Read more and find contact information on the Chemical Biology Consortium Sweden (CBCS) website.