This scheme supports development of new cancer treatments from preclinical through to early phase patient trials.
Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis and reviewed up to four times per year by the New Agents Committee
N/A; no external grant funding
N/A; no external grant funding. This scheme provides resources for clinical development of new cancer treatments.
You can apply for our Drug Development Project if you are based at an academic institution or a pharmaceutical or biotech company (UK or international).
Note that this scheme operates a closed round to ensure only eligible applications are submitted. You must contact us for an informal and confidential discussion of your proposal. We’ll advise on your eligibility and provide guidance on submitting your proposal.
We are seeking novel cancer agents approaching preclinical and/or clinical development with supporting in vivo efficacy data. We will consider all technology areas, including small molecule, biological and other therapeutics.
Examples of eligible projects include those requiring:
preclinical development, including biomarkers, assays, and formulation development prior to a Phase 1 trial
Phase 1 trials, including Phase 1a and 1b, first-in-human and first-in-class
combinations of unregistered and registered agents
early Phase 2 hypothesis-testing trials
studies on unlicensed agents in active commercial development that are off the company’s critical path or repurposed novel agents
late Phase trials
large registration trials
Phase 3 trials
trials of existing licensed drugs (unless in combination with an unlicensed treatment)
Proposals are formally reviewed by the New Agents Committee (NAC) up to four times per year.
You will be invited to attend a meeting with the NAC or join online to give a brief overview of the project and address questions from committee members. All NAC proposals and panel meetings are confidential.
You will receive a decision within two weeks of your meeting with the NAC.
Drug Development Projects are not external grant funding awards; we provide scientific and clinical support to develop the new treatment and staff resources to run the project. There is no direct funding granted to external parties.
Approved projects are sponsored and managed by our Centre for Drug Development (CDD), and a project team is allocated to work in partnership with you. The CDD manage the project for as long as necessary to support preclinical and early clinical development of the novel agent.
This includes:
scientific support to complete preclinical data package (where required)
managed clinical development
sponsorship of the trial
management of regulatory documents and communication with relevant authorities throughout the trial
protocol design and trial management
oversight of trial safety and clinical data
treatment of patients in UK and European clinical centres with world-leading scientific investigators and expertise in early clinical trials
You must contact us for a confidential discussion of your proposal so we can determine your eligibility. If required, we will set up a Confidential Disclosure Agreement to protect your data.
When contacting us, please include a short project outline. We typically require the following information (if available):
project background and stage of development
agent manufacturing information and physicochemical properties
target and scientific rationale, including mechanism of action
in vitro and in vivo data including efficacy, toxicology and PK/PD
data or hypothesis-driven rationale for proof of mechanism biomarker and proof of principle/efficacy biomarker
summary of preclinical or clinical studies proposed
the criteria that would constitute a successful study
IP position
next steps in development
agent’s USP or competitive advantage over other similar agents in development
At this stage, we will consider the project in terms of novelty, strength of scientific rationale, adequacy of preclinical data package and potential application for patients.
We will provide feedback on your proposal and advise if it is ready for a formal application and review by the NAC.
You will receive a decision within two weeks of your meeting with the NAC.
Committee members cannot discuss their decisions with applicants, so please do not approach them directly. This allows our committee members to keep the Code of Practice for Funding Committees, which keeps our review process fair and protects applicants, committee members and external reviewers.
Please contact us at drugdev@cancer.org.uk if you have questions about your eligibility or proposal.
