Contract researcher GVK Biosciences Private Ltd has teamed up with Onconova Therapeutics Inc to develop new drugs for cancer.

US-based Onconova is a late-stage biopharmaceutical firm that mainly develops innovative treatments for the treatment of cancer and radiation injury.

As part of the joint partnership, the US firm will give two early-stage oncology discovery goals, and Hyderabad-based GVK will make use of its multidisciplinary discovery platform to assist moving these goals from early discovery to the stage of clinical development.

Announcing the joint partnership deal, GVK Biosciences said, "The joint partnership will be based in the US and will align research priorities and technological expertise from both companies to facilitate moving certain Onconova oncology assets from early discovery to clinical development stage."

Premkumar Reddy, founder and director of Onconova, praised GVK saying it is a first-class infrastructure and the scientific expertise to support the advancement of two early-stage programs for the treatment of cancer.

GVK Biosciences brings its broad experience of working with more than two hundred pharmaceutical and biotech firms across multiple service offerings. It also boasts a scientific pool of more than two thousand scientists.

While Onconova retains the right to purchase back the programs, GVK will gain a rising share of the programs as they advance, up to a 50:50 split of revenue based on achievement of milestones.