27 clinical studies in pancreatic cancer are on our radar
August 18, 2021
We have received 27 applications to our call for projects in pancreatic and biliary tract cancer, announced earlier this year. This Request for Application (RFA) is a joint initiative by the Anticancer Fund and the Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research, a Swiss non-profit organisation. We have 3 million US dollars available.
We launched this Request for Application in April, as we want to fund innovative approaches to treat patients with pancreatic and biliary tract cancers.
“With pancreatic cancer being the fourth most common cause of cancer death, less than 10% of the patients surviving longer than 5 years after treatment, and no stunning progress in therapies in the last 20 years, there is a clear unmet need for more treatment options. With this RFA we hope to fill in the blanks”, explains Rica Capistrano, Programme Director New Projects of the Anticancer Fund.
We have received 27 proposals and we are currently analysing and reviewing them. The call had a global reach with applications not only from Europe, but also India, United States, Canada, Australia and Israel.
“We’re really humbled by the efforts that the oncologists and surgeons have made to come up with these proposals, despite their workload, COVID-19 and the many other hurdles they face”, says Gauthier Bouche, Director Clinical Research of the Anticancer Fund. ”The geographical spread confirms that improving the outcomes of pancreatic cancer patients cannot happen in isolation. It reenforces our vision that restricting one’s funding to a specific country doesn’t make any sense at all. It’s incredible that we are the exception rather than the rule on this matter.
Not only trials with drugs
The projects that came in are quite diverse. We received proposals for clinical trials not only looking at drugs, but also testing novel surgical approaches and radiotherapy modalities.
The selected projects will be invited to proceed and to submit a full application before the 17th of October 2021. The final step, the selection of the trials, is expected at the end of the year, on the 20th of December 2021.
“We are excited to move forward with this second joint request for applications, with the Anticancer Fund. With patient engagement at the core of the clinical trials we seek to support, we believe that together we can make a significant impact in an area where there is a real need to change standard of care and improve outcomes for pancreatic and biliary cancer patients”, adds Valerie Behan, Senior Scientific Programme Manager of the Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research.
Evolutionary Therapy
Later this month, we will also reveal the studies we will support following another Request for Application, targeting clinical trials testing therapies based on evolutionary principles. We are nearing the final decision here. Of the 24 projects submitted, 5 have been selected for an in-depth evaluation.