Astex Pharmaceuticals acquired by Otsuka

University of Cambridge spin-out Astex Pharmaceuticals is to be acquired by Japanese company in order to accelerate the development of new cancer treatments. This approach has led to a significant change in how the pharmaceutical industry approaches drug discovery - Chris Abell The drug discovery company, Astex Pharmaceuticals, has been acquired by the Japanese firm Otsuka Pharmaceutical, in a move which promises to significantly enhance its capacity to develop new therapeutics for cancer. Astex was founded by University of Cambridge researchers in 1999. Astex currently has potential new drugs for leukaemia, prostate, lung and ovarian cancers in clinical trials. The company, which has its research headquarters in Cambridge, is recognised as a world leader in fragment-based drug discovery, a method which was developed at the University in the 1990s. Fragment-based drug discovery is one of the most significant advances in early stage drug discovery in the last 20 years. The technique was the result of collaborative research between Professor Sir Tom Blundell from the Department of Biochemistry and Professor Chris Abell from the Department of Chemistry.