RTFCCR Partners With CureSearch to Launch a USD $2M International Grand Challenge Award in Pediatric Cancer
Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research (RTFCCR) and U.S.-based CureSearch for Children’s Cancer (CureSearch) announced the opening of the application window for a $2,000,000 (USD) International Grand Challenge Awards opportunity that addresses two critical challenges in pediatric cancer treatments: 1) Creating novel approaches to childhood cancer survivorship and 2) Accelerating the delivery of new therapeutic agents for pediatric patients.
The $2,000,000 grant is the result of a new partnership between RTFCCR and Curesearch to advance pediatric cancer research by supporting the best projects proposed by top researchers from around the world.
“RTFCCR is eager to partner with like-minded organizations that share our sense of urgency,” said Eveline Mumenthaler, Director, Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research. “This effort is very much aligned with our mission to inspire the best and brightest scientific minds to take on groundbreaking new research that provides imminent and wholesome options for cancer patients.”
“We are looking to save and improve the quality of lives of pediatric cancer patients in the near term,” said Laura Thrall, chief executive officer of CureSearch. “To do this, however, we must address the critical needs and challenges facing pediatric cancer treatment today, and this combined effort with RTFCCR will help further our progress.”
Grand Challenge 1: Novel Approaches to Childhood Cancer Survivorship
New treatments for childhood cancers have dramatically improved the prognosis and outcomes for many pediatric cancers, from 10% 50 years ago to almost 90% today in some cases. Long-term survival into adulthood is the expectation for most children with access to contemporary therapies for pediatric cancer, on average. However, the therapy responsible for this survival can also produce adverse long-term health consequences that manifest months to years after completion of cancer treatment. There is potential for interventions that improve the quality of life of survivors, reduce the severity of long-term effects, and advance clinical and preclinical interventions to improve long-term outcomes.
CureSearch and RTFCCR have particular interest in driving research projects that develop interventions to prevent or reduce the late effects of pediatric cancer treatments or improve long-term survivorship health.
Grand Challenge #2: Accelerating the Delivery of Novel Agents and Clinical Trial Design
Regulatory barriers, differences between academic and pharmaceutical incentives, and clinical study design slow pediatric drug development. This grand challenge presents an opportunity for projects that apply insights about molecular targets and cellular disease processes to developing novel agents. Other potential projects might develop biologically-based studies for testing existing adult drugs on pediatric populations, for multi-cohort study design, designs that incorporate single agent and combination therapy study phases, Phase I + II designs, multi-site (consortia) or multi-national studies, or other approaches.
CureSearch and RTFCCR have particular interest in international collaborative projects and/or research that leverage existing regulatory guidelines or governmental programs that require or reward research in the development of new therapies for pediatric patients.
The application window opens Monday, March 2 via Proposal Central, with award notifications released in October 2015. Funding will be provided January 2016 – December 2018.