Wragge & Co’s life sciences team has brokered an innovative licensing agreement aimed at delivering new cancer treatments.

The Birmingham law firm acted in the deal between AstraZeneca and a partnership of Belgian life sciences research institutes: the Biotechnology Institute VIB, CD3 and KU Leuven.

The deal will see AstraZeneca in-license certain novel molecules from VIB/CD3 and collaborate with academics to explore promising new insights into treatments for inflammatory diseases and cancer.

The agreement, negotiated and drafted by the Wragge & Co team in just three weeks, secures long-term research funding to explore the potential of MALT1 - a naturally occurring protein - as a promising target for potential new treatments of auto-immune disorders and certain types of cancer.

The Wragge team worked across several jurisdictions including Sweden, Belgium and the US to secure the agreement.

Dr Luke Kempton, a partner who led on the deal for Wragge & Co, said: “It has been a privilege to bring this deal to a close for AstraZeneca, they are a long-term client and at the cutting edge of developments in the life science sector.

“The terms of this deal will ensure that this important research has the resources it needs.

“The deal also brings together the best of academia and the best of industry, a growing trend in research and one we are pleased to be at the forefront of.”

The research began when VIB and CD3 launched a collaborative research project aimed at discovering MALT1 inhibitors. It is hoped a better understanding of MALT1 will allow for the development of more effective medicines.