The Scripps Research Institute has announced plans for collaboration with pharmaceutical firm NeoRx that will see funds ploughed into the development of new platinum-based cancer treatments.

Details of the first partnership emerged today, with a wide range of collaborative schemes outlined at a launch opened in Florida by Governor Jeb Bush.

NeoRx will work with Scripps Florida, a new division of the Scripps Research Institute, providing $2.5 million over the next 26 months in return for options on commercialising the research.

Governor Bush hailed the link up: "This partnership with Scripps Florida will surely strengthen our state's position as a world leader in curing disease and improving the human condition."

NeoRx chairman and CEO Jerry McMahon said the move would provide a new platform from which to develop cancer treatments, including the advancement of platinum-based drugs.

"We are currently focusing our resources on the clinical development of picoplatin, a next-generation intravenous platinum compound," he explained.

He added that the firm was also seeking to broaden its cancer portfolio to include targeted cancer therapies such as protein kinase inhibitors.

A Phase II trial of picoplatin is currently under way for patients with small cell lung cancer, a treatment NeoRx specialises in.