Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Boston, and Janssen Biotech have announced a three-year immuno-oncology lung cancer collaboration with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Janssen scientists will work with the research team at Dana-Farber's Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science to determine the clinical setting for certain immuno-oncology agents in Janssen's lung cancer discovery pipeline.

Utilizing the Belfer Institute's proprietary immuno-oncology lung platform and lung cancer disease experience, the research teams also will seek to identify rational immuno-oncology drug combination strategies and biomarkers, and to characterize mechanisms of resistance. The collaboration also will identify and validate novel targets for lung cancers.

Lung cancer is one of three focus areas for Janssen Oncology based on its high unmet need. According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined. Overall, the chance that a man will develop lung cancer in his lifetime is about one in 13; for a woman, the risk is about one in 16.