Boehringer Ingelheim and Vanderbilt University join forces to develop new cancer treatment

Ingelheim, Germany, January 15, 2015, Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that it has established a research alliance with Vanderbilt University and the cancer drug discovery laboratory of Professor Stephen W. Fesik, Ph.D., the Orrin H. Ingram, II Chair in Cancer Research and Professor of Biochemistry, Pharmacology, and Chemistry. The aim of the new collaboration is the research and development of small molecule inhibitors of oncogenic Ras for the treatment of cancer. Ras is the most frequently mutated oncogene known in cancer with K-Ras being the most commonly mutated form occurring in Pancreas, Colon, Biliary tract and Lung Adenocarcinomas. Mutations in the Ras family are very common, and found in 20 to 30 percent of all human tumors. Ras has been a particularly difficult protein to target since its discovery in human cancers more than 30 years ago.
Under the terms of the agreement, the research capabilities of Vanderbilt University and Boehringer Ingelheim will be brought together in a multi-year research program focusing on the development of small molecule inhibitors of Ras.