WOBURN, Mass.—Jasco Pharmaceuticals LLC and North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in Durham, N.C., recently entered into a collaborative research program. The program, initiated by Jasco, will focus on the development of therapeutics for pancreatic cancer, specifically those that function through a Pim kinase mechanism of action. The program will combine Jasco's proprietary selective Pim kinase inhibitors with the tools and expertise at NCCU in Prof. Antonio T. Baines' laboratory. Baines is a faculty member in the Department of Biology with a joint appointment in the Cancer Research Program of the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute at NCCU. Dr. Carmen Baldino, president of Jasco Pharmaceuticals, says the company is excited about the collaboration, which he says will "accelerate our ongoing Pim inhibitor program, progress the knowledge base in pancreatic cancer biology and further elucidate strategies for the development of therapies targeting Pim kinases." No financial details regarding the collaboration were disclosed.