June 2026 • PharmaTimes Magazine • 9
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UCB and Cancer Research UK form expanded alliance to advance cancer therapies
UCB has entered a new multi-project strategic alliance with Cancer Research UK and its innovation arm, Cancer Research Horizons, aiming to accelerate the development of novel oncology candidates by combining complementary scientific and clinical strengths.
The agreement builds on a collaboration announced in 2023 between UCB and Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development, which has already advanced two antibody drug candidates into ongoing clinical trials across UK and European sites.
The expanded alliance now incorporates earlier stage discovery and preclinical programmes, with UCB drawing on Cancer Research UK’s oncology expertise, access to leading investigators and extensive drug development capabilities.
Under the new framework, Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development and Cancer Research Horizons’ Therapeutic Innovation teams will work with UCB to progress selected therapeutics from research through to early clinical development.
For each project entering the alliance, the Centre for Drug Development will design, prepare, sponsor and run a phase 1/2 clinical trial. UCB has nominated two additional projects from its internal pipeline to join the partnership.
Research and development costs will be shared, with UCB retaining exclusive rights to further develop and commercialise all programmes. Cancer Research Horizons will receive undisclosed milestone and royalty payments tied to downstream progress.
MimiVax and Roswell Park open trial of SurVaxM for neuroendocrine tumours
A new phase 2 clinical trial has opened at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center to evaluate the cancer vaccine SurVaxM in combination with temozolomide for patients with progressing metastatic neuroendocrine tumours.
The study, sponsored jointly by MimiVax and Roswell Park, is led by principal investigator Dr Jasmeet Kaur.
The trial will compare temozolomide plus SurVaxM with temozolomide alone in patients whose disease continues to advance. SurVaxM is a peptide vaccine designed to stimulate an immune response against survivin, a protein expressed in many tumour types.
Earlier phase 1 findings showed the vaccine was well tolerated in neuroendocrine tumour patients and produced measurable clinical benefit with elevated antibody responses.
Michael Ciesielski, CEO and co-founder of MimiVax, said: “This phase 2 trial is the result of years of careful, collaborative science between MimiVax, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the neuroendocrine tumour community. NET patients deserve more options, and we are excited to see if SurVaxM can become a new treatment for them.”
Neuroendocrine tumours arise from hormone-producing cells, most commonly in the gastrointestinal tract and lungs.
Although many grow slowly, metastatic disease carries a poor prognosis and treatment options are limited once first-line therapy fails. Immunotherapy has shown little benefit in this setting, increasing interest in new immunologic targets such as survival.
The Scottish Medicines Consortium has recommended the reimbursement of enfortumab vedotin with pembrolizumab for adults with unresectable or metastatic urothelial cancer who are eligible for platinum-containing chemotherapy.
Astellas Pharma said the decision means doctors and patients in Scotland will be able to access a treatment that substantially increases overall survival through the NHS.
Calla Lily Clinical Care has dosed the first patients in its Freedom clinical trial, a NIHR-funded study evaluating the company’s Callavid intravaginal drug-delivery platform for women with luteal phase insufficiency.
The condition, in which progesterone levels may be too low to sustain early pregnancy, is associated with infertility and recurrent miscarriage.
Poolbeg Pharma has received formal notification that its patent covering the use of p38 MAPK inhibitors, including POLB 001, for the prevention of cancer immunotherapy-induced cytokine release syndrome (CRS) has been granted in Canada.
The decision marks the second national grant within the company’s oncology-focused CRS patent family, following approval in Australia.
Enterprise Therapeutics has reported that its phase 2 trial of ETD001, an investigational inhaled epithelial sodium channel blocker, met its primary efficacy outcome in people with cystic fibrosis who do not benefit from CFTR modulators.
The study showed clinically meaningful improvements in lung function over 28 days compared with placebo.
Health authorities are monitoring a new cluster of Ebola cases after infections were confirmed in a remote region, prompting rapid deployment of surveillance teams and emergency medical support.
Vaccination of contacts and frontline workers is under way, alongside efforts to trace potential transmission chains. Officials say the situation remains contained but fragile, with limited healthcare access and population movement posing challenges.
NHS dentistry in the UK remains under severe strain, with new data showing millions of people unable to secure an NHS appointment.
Many practices report they cannot take on new NHS patients because the current contract makes it financially unsustainable, leading to widespread closures or shifts to private care. The British Dental Association warns the service is at breaking point, with long waits, rising unmet need and growing regional ‘dental deserts’ across England.