Roche is to develop a potential cancer therapy with two business partners.

Genentech, the Swiss biotech company GlycArt - wholly-owned by Roche - and Roche itself will collaborate on bringing GlycArt's GA101 molecule to market.

The deal includes a licence from GlycArt for Genentech to share development and to have marketing rights in the US.

GA101 will be developed to treat haematological malignancies and other oncology-related B-cell disorders such as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The drug is a humanised anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody engineered to increase both direct- and immune-mediated target cell death.

It is aimed at haematological malignancies - the types of cancer that affect blood, bone marrow and lymph nodes.

GA101 is already in phase I/II clinical trials for CD20-positive B-cell malignancies, such as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

"With its unique mode of action, we believe GA101 has the potential to extend the therapeutic benefit over current standards of care, including treatment for patients who do not respond to current therapies," said Pablo Umana, chief scientific officer and co-founder of GlycArt.

GlycArt's speciality is antibody engineering to find new drug candidates.

"The exciting work in monoclonal antibody engineering carried out by our scientists at GlycArt is now moving through Roche Group companies to the next stage in developing clinically differentiated treatments," said William M. Burns, chief executive of Roche's Pharmaceutical Division.

GlycArt was founded in 2000 as a spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, and was bought by Roche in 2005.

Hal Barron, Genentech senior vice president, development and chief medical officer, added: "This collaboration with GlycArt and Roche for the GA101 molecule complements our existing research programme and our focus on innovative compounds.

"We are pleased that through this programme we may have the potential to offer a new option to treat patients with haematological malignancies."

An update on phase I data is expected at the American Society of Haematology meeting in December.

pharmafocus@wiley.com