American Cancer Society and Melanoma Research Alliance join forces to bring down immunotherapy side-effects
pharmafile | June 29, 2017 | News story | Medical Communications, Research and Development | American Cancer Society, Cancer, Melanoma Research Alliance, immunotherapy
The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) have formed a research partnership to reduce the impact of rare but serious side-effects as a result of checkpoint inhibitor drugs in the treatment of cancer by improving patient outcomes and minimising toxicity.
The two organisations have agreed to commit $1 million each to the joint grant-making programme; $1 million will be used to support one large research project, while $200,000 will be given each to five others, primarily focusing on melanoma, among other cancer types.
“Melanoma has served as the proving ground for several immunotherapies,” explained Michael Kaplan, President & CEO of the Melanoma Research Alliance. “The first checkpoint immunotherapy approved by the FDA in 2011 was to treat melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.”
Checkpoint inhibitors are a form of immunotherapy treatment which work by spurring the immune system’s T-cells to fight back against cancer cells. They have been approved by the FDA in seven indications, including lung, head and neck, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma, classical Hodgkin lymphoma and MSI-H cancers, with clinical trials ongoing in over 30 other treatment areas. The drugs are associated a range of negative side-effects
A proposal request will be issued on 1 July this year, with the first grants expected to be awarded in April next year.
William Chambers, Senior Vice President for Extramural Research at the American Cancer Society, commented on the partnership: “The partnership with MRA is timely and important for patients getting new immunotherapy drugs. Together we believe we can really move the field forward and more rapidly improve outcomes for patients.”
Matt Fellows
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