Cancer Research Horizons and LifeArc launch C-Further

A pioneering £28m (USD$36m) international initiative, encompassing both resources and funding, has been announced today by Cancer Research Horizons , the innovation arm of Cancer Research UK, and LifeArc to develop new medicines exclusively for children’s and young people’s cancers.

Despite improvements in overall survival over the past 40 years, cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease in children and young people in the US and in the UK1-4. Some paediatric cancers still have low survival rates and many survivors face long-term side effects. These cancers often have a different biology than those in adults, yet targeted treatment options are mostly based on adult therapies. This leads to a reliance on non-targeted chemo- and radiotherapy, which can be harsh and create lifelong side effects in developing bodies. In addition, small patient populations make clinical trials difficult and reduce incentives for investment.

C-Further is an international consortium, bringing together researchers, clinicians, investors and other partners with a shared commitment to address the issues that cause development of potential new therapeutics for cancers affecting children and young people to stall or never begin. 

“The discovery and development of new therapeutics specifically for childhood cancers simply hasn't been commercially viable – at least, by following the same pathways to market as adult cancer treatment,” said Tony Hickson, Chief Business Officer of Cancer Research Horizons. “Rising to the challenge of childhood cancer requires a fundamental change in the way children and young people’s cancer drugs are discovered, developed and brought to market.”

The current pipeline of potential new medicines being developed for childhood cancers is sparse. Only two drugs were approved exclusively for children and young people with cancer by the EMA and five by the FDA5 from 2007 to 2022. In contrast, 14 new cancer medicines for adults received FDA approval in 2023 alone6.

The consortium is calling on organisations and researchers within the childhood cancer community, in order to identify therapeutic projects that can form the basis of a pipeline of new medicines.

 “C-Further is a completely new way of working with the research community,” said David Jenkinson, Head of Childhood Cancer at LifeArc. “Through the consortium, we will offer researchers with promising therapeutic targets a package of support, that could include funding, access to cutting-edge drug discovery facilities, expert support and comprehensive resources to help projects to progress from the lab bench to patients.” 

Expressions of interest are invited from researchers with an asset that has novel therapeutic potential in paediatric oncology across diverse modalities (small molecule, antibody-based, cell therapy and others). Suitable projects are likely to be or equivalent stages of: hit identification; hit validation; hit-to-lead; and lead optimisation. A webinar on September 18 will provide more details about C-Further's offerings, eligibility criteria, and the application process. Registration is open here. 

The consortium is also inviting other researchers, clinicians, scientists in drug discovery and development, not-for-profit funders and investors who share the same commitment to find out how they could get involved. 

To learn more visit C-Further’s website or register for our webinar.