Acerta Pharma is a leader in the field of covalent binding technology and is applying this technology to create novel, highly selective therapies for cancer. In February 2016, AstraZeneca acquired a majority share of Acerta Pharma via a USD $4 billion investment and is a committed partner to the development of these innovative drugs.
Our Science
Acerta Pharma takes an innovative approach to the discovery and development of targeted, novel low molecular weight and orally available drugs. Specifically designed compounds allow the identification of hits for each of the protein targets, and ensure high efficacy and selectivity within each target family.
Multiparametric phosphoflow cytometry is used to profile the changes that occur as a result of kinase inhibition at the single cell level. This technology is useful to determine drug efficacy in specific cell populations from a heterogeneous cell population.
Acalabrutinib is Acerta’s lead program which was developed based on our discovery efforts. It is a covalent Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor with accelerated approval in the United States for treatment of adult patients with mantle cell lymphoma who have received at least one prior therapy. Acalabrutinib is currently under investigation in multiple Phase 3 clinical trials. The clinical program includes over 40 trials in hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Over 3,500 patients have participated in these trials to date.