Roche, through its Translational and Clinical Research Center, and the Broad Institute, a biomedical and genomic research center based in Cambridge, Mass., have signed a multi-year collaboration designed to identify novel indications for promising development-stage compounds using the Broad Institute's platforms of screening technologies.

In a novel approach to create value for compounds that failed to meet critical phase II milestones or were otherwise halted for strategic reasons, Roche has prepared a collection of more than 300 compounds intended for diverse indications. Roche has made these compounds, collectively known as the Roche Repurposing Compound Collection (RRCC), available to the Broad Institute to identify alternative uses for patients. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"The compounds in Roche's collection are compelling starting points: if we can find new applications for them, we may be able to accelerate the process of finding the right drug for the right patient,” said Brian Hubbard, director of Broad Institute's therapeutics discovery and development platform. “In the course of this project, we will be using multiple, novel methods developed at the Broad Institute to identify these new therapeutic indications.”

By screening the entire RRCC, the Broad Institute will link advanced compounds to novel patient populations through common biochemical pathways. This approach is expected to reveal unique targets for new drug discovery projects. Additionally, novel disease associations may be found that will lead rapidly to new clinical evaluations in which the compounds have a higher probability of success.

"We look forward to collaborating with the Broad Institute to identify new uses for compounds in our RRCC," said Karen Lackey, head of medicinal chemistry, Roche. "Over the last 20 years of drug discovery we have created many drug candidates that did not make it to market. By compiling these compounds into an annotated set and collaborating with the Broad Institute to put to use its technologies and disease expertise, we hope to discover ways to repurpose these compounds that will be beneficial for patients."