NEW YORK – November 3, 2016 – Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) announced today an SU2C Catalyst™ collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, that will help accelerate the development of new cancer treatments and combination therapies by giving awardees funding and access to a dozen of the company’s medicines.
Genentech will provide funding to support several research projects of $1 to $3 million each over a three-year grant term. Applications will be evaluated by a subcommittee of the SU2C Catalyst Executive Committee.
Proposals for SU2C Catalyst Research Grant: Genentech-Supported Projects must be submitted by noon U.S. ET on Dec. 1, 2016. Program guidelines can be found at http://www.aacr.org/genentech. Proposals must be submitted through the proposalCentral website at https://proposalcentral.altum.com.
SU2C Catalyst is a collaborative program managed by SU2C’s Scientific Partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), that is intended to leverage all facets of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostic, and devices industries to bring new treatments to patients as rapidly as possible through early-phase clinical trials or translational research.
SU2C Catalyst is a collaborative program managed by SU2C’s Scientific Partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), that is intended to leverage all facets of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostic, and devices industries to bring new treatments to patients as rapidly as possible through early-phase clinical trials or translational research.
The Genentech-supported projects will support research into new uses for 12 approved or investigational medicines: atezolizumab (Tecentriq®), bevacizumab (Avastin®) (combinations only), alectinib (Alecensa®), cobimetinib (Cotellic®), vemurafenib (Zelboraf®), vismodegib (Erivedge®), trastuzumab (Herceptin®) plus pertuzumab (Perjeta®), obinutuzumab (Gazyva®), emactuzumab, anti-CD40, or idasanutlin. Each of these medicines can be investigated alone or in combination with other compounds, biologics, diagnostics, or devices intended as therapeutic interventions, and/or methods for biomarker identification in the following thematic areas of research:
• Role of negative or positive regulatory molecules (biomarkers) as predictors of response to immune therapies in the setting of preoperative versus metastatic clinical settings.
• Neoantigen identification and predictability of clinical effects of immune therapies (checkpoints, adjuvants, endogenous versus exogenous vaccines).
• Duration of immune therapies, including after response or disease progression, and impact on immune biomarkers.
“We are deeply grateful for Genentech’s support of SU2C Catalyst,” said Raymond DuBois, MD, PhD, dean of the College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, and chair of the SU2C Catalyst–Genentech Steering Subcommittee. “The broad range of medicines made available to selected research teams will help pick up the pace at which new treatments are developed for patients who need them.”
Collaborations with Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb through SU2C Catalyst were announced previously.
“We are committed to collaborations like SU2C’s Catalyst that can help advance scientific understanding and the development of new treatments to help people with cancer,” said Edith Perez, MD, vice president and head of U.S. Medical Affairs for Genentech. “Our goal is to identify which people are most likely to benefit from our medicines as we continue to work towards a cure.”
Each SU2C Catalyst project is carried out by a collaborative team of expert investigators. The project must be designed to accelerate the clinical use of therapeutic agents or methods leading to patient involvement within the three-year term of the grant, and to deliver near-term patient benefit, according to the program’s guidelines.
Proposals for SU2C Catalyst research projects must be based on perceived opportunities for success, as well as high-priority areas with a critical need for rapid progress beyond current medical care. An emphasis on early-phase, signal-finding clinical trials is encouraged.
SU2C Catalyst is overseen by an executive committee chaired by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, chair of the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee and institute professor at the Koch Institute for Integrated Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The SU2C Catalyst–Genentech Steering Subcommittee chaired by DuBois will also include three additional academic scientists named by SU2C in consultation with the AACR, and three pharmaceutical industry members named by Genentech. The subcommittee will review submitted grant proposals and make recommendations to the SU2C Catalyst Executive Committee.
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Media Contacts:
SU2C
Jane Rubenstein
646-386-7969
jrubinstein@eifoundation.org
AACR
Rick Buck
215-446-7162
rick.buck@aacr.org
Genentech
Holli Kolkey
650-467-6800
kolkey.holli@gene.com
About the Stand Up To Cancer Initiative
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was established in 2008 by film and media leaders who utilize the industry’s resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, and to increase awareness about cancer prevention as well as progress being made in the fight against the disease. As SU2C’s scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, conduct rigorous, competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding, oversee grants administration, and provide expert review of research progress.
About the American Association for Cancer Research
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world’s first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR membership includes more than 37,000 laboratory, translational, and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and patient advocates residing in 108 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 30 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with nearly 19,500 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes eight prestigious, peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients, and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration, and scientific oversight of team science and individual investigator grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and other policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer. For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org.
About Genentech
Founded 40 years ago, Genentech is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines to treat patients with serious or life-threatening medical conditions. The company, a member of the Roche Group, has headquarters in South San Francisco, California. For additional information about the company, please visit http://www.gene.com.