School of Pharmacy

News and Events

Almac and Queen’s University have announced a significant milestone in the development of a ground breaking new cancer drug ALM201.

ALM201 is a drug candidate derived from a natural protein originally discovered by a Queen’s School of Pharmacy research team led by Professor Tracy Robson and developed by Almac Discovery Ltd in Craigavon in collaboration with Professor Robson. It is an anti-angiogenic drug that works by preventing the growth of new blood vessels, thereby inhibiting tumour growth. However ALM201, unlike the majority of other anti-angiogenic therapies on the market, works by an entirely new mechanism and hence has the potential to treat a wider range of patients than currently possible including those resistant to existing therapies.

With preclinical studies successfully completed the drug has reached a significant milestone as Phase 1 clinical trials are scheduled to begin in early 2014. The three year trial will be led by Dr. Richard Wilson, Director of the Northern Ireland Clinical Trials Unit at Queen’s and managed by Almac Discovery, and will be run from Belfast and two other UK based clinical trial Centres.

Almac and Queen’s have also formally launched the Almac/CCRCB joint Drug Discovery Partnership and the announcement of Professor Tim Harrison as the inaugural McClay Chair of Medicinal Chemistry who will head up the collaborative programme. Alan Armstrong, CEO of the Almac Group explains; “Almac and Queen’s have demonstrated through the creation and development of ALM201 how valuable and productive such a world class partnership between academia and industry can be”.

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