Schering, AstraZeneca ink cancer pact

Germany's Schering and the UK's AstraZeneca are joining forces to develop a new therapy for breast cancer. AstraZeneca and Schering will share the costs and profits of developing SERD, a preclinical estrogen receptor inhibitor. The receptors pose a barrier to hormone treatments, a mainstay of breast cancer therapy. "The novel SERD has the potential to deliver significant benefit to patients with estrogen-dependent cancers: the lead indication will be breast cancer," noted Schering in a statement.

- here's the AP report on the pact