RTFCCR and ACF Joint Request for Application: pancreatic and biliary tract cancer
April 30, 2021
The Anticancer Fund and the Rising Tide Foundation decided to join forces for this call as there is a need and urge to find new treatment options for patients with pancreatic cancer. Despite all recent innovation in cancer therapies, pancreatic cancer patients have very poor prognosis. The 5-year survival rate at an advanced stage is only 3%. Moreover, pancreatic cancer accounts for about 7% of all cancer deaths. The ultimate goal of both the Anticancer Fund and the Rising Tide Foundation is to make a difference and to help improve patient outcomes.
UPDATE August 18, 2021: 27 clinical studies in pancreatic cancer are on our radar
The Anticancer Fund and the Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research (RTFCCR) have joined forces for this unique opportunity to support high impact clinical trials testing novel and unique strategies in the treatment of patients diagnosed with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC) and/or biliary tract cancer (BTC*).
We are looking for innovative approaches extrapolated from laboratory work in relevant cancer models or extrapolated from other cancer types but deemed applicable in PDAC and/or BTC. We are open to receive early to late-stage clinical trials (e.g., pilot study, Phase I, Phase II or Phase III). We welcome applications from all research groups with a track record in PDAC and/or BTC.
The amount available for this call for proposals is US$ 03 million. The amount allocated per grant will depend on the number of proposals selected for funding.
LOI Application Deadline: Wednesday 30 June 2021, 23:59 CET
The LOI template can be downloaded from the website https://www.anticancerfund.org/en/request-application
We encourage applicants to contact apply@anticancerfund.org for any questions related to the call for proposals and to check eligibility of their proposal in case of doubt.
The winning proposals will be announced in the 4th quarter of 2021.
RTFCCR & ACF joint collaboration flyer
(*) Biliary tract cancers (BTC’s) constitute epithelial malignancies of the biliary tree and include the following: gallbladder cancer, ampulla of Vater cancer, cancer of the extra-hepatic and intra-hepatic bile ducts.
Eligibility criteria includes
- Clinical trials in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, gallbladder cancer, ampulla of Vater cancer, cancer of the extra-hepatic and/or intra-hepatic bile ducts.
- Clinical trials need to be an interventional trial with commercially neglected interventions, such as drug repurposing, surgery, radiotherapy.
- Open to innovative clinical trials with ‘out of the box’ thinking such as new design, innovative technology, and must have a high impact for patients.
- Open for early to late-stage clinical trials (e.g., pilot study, Phase I, Phase II or Phase III)
- The ultimate goal is to improve cure rate or survival with the intervention. Clinical trials should serve patients interests with primary endpoints that seek to provide clinical benefit. Trials should not have biological or translational primary endpoints, but applicants may include secondary non-clinical endpoints.
- Trials should be patient centric. Applicants must include a patient engagement plan from research question through to dissemination.
- All interventions are allowed, except:
- Compounds (chemical/biological) that are still in drug development.
- Drug products without marketing authorization or approval from competent authorities (i.e., FDA, EMA, national) for any indication (cancer or not cancer related indication).
- Cell-based therapy.
- For on-patent drugs or non-drug products (e.g., machines, devices…) with commercial owner: a written statement should be provided that the commercial owner is not willing to give funding for the conduction of the trial. On-patent drugs should be provided for the trial by the commercial owner (a written statement should be provided).
- The leading clinical trial team has a track record of high-quality trials – preferentially investigator-driven trials – in the field of PDAC and/or BTC. Applicants without expertise in this field should seek collaboration with investigators who have demonstrated expertise in PDAC and/or BTC. A formal proof (letter) of collaboration should be provided.
About the Anticancer Fund
The Anticancer Fund (ACF) is a Belgian Foundation of Public Utility dedicated to expanding the range of treatment options available to cancer patients, regardless of commercial value. We support research resulting in societal benefit but neglected by the pharma-industry. We provide evidence-based information on cancer treatments, engage in comprehensive knowledge-sharing with cancer patients and collaborate on European policy making. With no commercial shareholders or interference from special interest groups or pharma companies, our focus remains exclusively on patients.
About the Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research
Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research (RTFCCR) is a charitable, non-profit organization established in 2010 and located in Schaffhausen Switzerland. RTFCCR’s primary consideration in granting support is given to truly innovative, unique, patient-centered clinical research. The long-term ambition of the foundation is to optimize partnerships and attract the best in Phase I to Phase III clinical trials that aim to bring maximum patient benefit in the shortest time possible. With patients at the core of the mission, the foundation strives to support clinical trials resulting in the creation of less toxic therapeutic approaches, better disease burden management, earlier cancer detection, and innovative prevention strategies that will lead to increased quality of life and survival.