A new Functional Genomics Centre of excellence that will use CRISPR technology, big data and clinical insights to discover new targets and disease pathways in oncology is the goal of a collaboration signed between AstraZeneca and Cancer Research UK. The Centre will use CRISPR technology to study the biology of cancer in order to create biological models more reflective of the human disease. It will be located at the Milner Therapeutics Institute at the University of Cambridge. According to the company, AstraZeneca and Cancer Research UK will have independent use of the Centre’s facilities.
A separate collaboration has been also signed by AZ with Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) to use CRISPR to uncover genes and disease pathway mechanisms involved in DNA Damage Response (DDR), one of AstraZeneca’s four key platforms in oncology.