Several trials of new drugs to tackle paediatric cancer are in the pipeline. These include ‘FOREST’, a Cancer Research UK funded Phase I trial exploring the use of a new antibody to treat solid tumours in children under 12 whose cancer has returned or can’t be treated by conventional approaches.
Each year Cancer Research UK will invest over £700,000 for the core running of the team and will provide extra funding for individual trials. The team will sit within the existing Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Birmingham, allowing them to draw on the world-class expertise at the centre.
Professor Philip Johnson, director of the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Birmingham, said: “At the University of Birmingham, we have a strong track record in the design and implementation of clinical trials. This new team will galvanise our offering by enabling us to reach cancer sufferers of all ages, rapidly take cutting edge science from the laboratory to the bedside. We also want to use our expertise to design trials for rarer cancers where it can be harder to recruit enough participants, using innovative trial design and joining international trials.”
Kate Law, director of clinical research at Cancer Research UK, said: “Cancer Research UK is the largest single funder of children’s cancer research and trials in the country and the launch of this new team demonstrates our total commitment to ensuring more children survive cancer with the fewest possible side effects.”