Cresset Discovery Services enters collaboration with the University of Newcastle, Australia, to repurpose therapeutics against oncology targets

Cresset Discovery Services enters collaboration with the University of Newcastle, Australia, to repurpose therapeutics against oncology targets

Cambridge, UK – 14 September 2021 – Cresset Discovery Services, provider of contract research services for early phase of drug discovery, has announced it will collaborate with the University of Newcastle, Australia to focus on drug reprofiling against oncology targets. The work will build on research led by award-winning molecular biologist, Associate Professor Nikola Bowden.

Nikola is co-Director of the Centre for Drug Repurposing and Medicines Research, and leads the DNA repair group. The overall aim of her research is to deliver personalized diagnosis and treatment to cancer patients, with a focus on DNA repair and drug repurposing in melanoma and ovarian cancer.

Repurposing existing drugs offers a promising solution to cancer patients in need of more immediate treatment. Having prior knowledge of a drug’s safety, dosing and side effects can significantly shorten research and development timelines.

“We’re excited to collaborate with Nikola and her team on this project. The intelligent computational approaches that we specialize in are ideally placed to identify which existing drugs are viable against new targets,” says Dr Martin Slater, Director of Consulting Services at Cresset Discovery Services.

“Using existing drugs as a starting point for new therapies can provide patients with access to critical treatment in a quick and cost-effective manner,” says Associate Professor Nikola Bowden. “We’re looking forward to engaging the in silico solutions and drug discovery expertise offered by Cresset to advance our research in this area.”