Translational Research at Dana-Farber Forging New Ground—And New Collaborations—In Translating Research Into Cancer Therapies
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE Dana-Farber Cancer Institute www.dana-farber.org Translational research at Dana-Farber Forging new ground—and new collaborations—in translating research into cancer therapies. hen Sidney Farber successfully used collaboration leverages the Belfer Institute’s lung an experimental drug to treat child- cancer research platform to evaluate effective Traditional hood leukemia in 1947, he made combinations of immunotherapy drugs, explore licensing and W Virtual the world realize that sustained research is the biological mechanisms of drug resistance and sponsored startup model key to curing cancer—a founding principle of pinpoint lung cancer targets for new immuno- research Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Nearly 70 years therapy drugs. later, that concept still drives Dana-Farber. For Similarly, the Lurie Family Imaging Center fea- Clinical and preclinical Sponsored research example, Dana-Farber devotes half its efforts and tures specially designed MRI, CT, PET, ultrasound work on compounds with groups of resources to research and half to patient care, and optical scanners within the animal-housing investigators Develop unlike other cancer centers that focus mostly area to help researchers monitor tumors and their compounds Identify and on patient care. Today, collaborations between characteristics in mice without the need to kill ani- with centers validate academia and industry foster the translation mals. This ‘mouse hospital’ will reduce the animal and labs targets of research into therapies. Dana-Farber Cancer use–related costs in the development of drugs. Institute is uniquely positioned for such joint In the Early Drug Development Center, Dana- ventures thanks to its balanced portfolio of Farber researchers help industry partners design Figure 1: Translational pie chart. Aspects of research and clinical care. In addition, to keep and conduct phase 1 clinical trials of novel anti- Dana-Farber’s translational research pace with the ever-changing investor and indus- cancer agents that might become effective new approaches and partnering schemes. try landscapes, Dana-Farber has invented new treatments. Other centers cover areas such as research models, branching out from its purely precision medicine, epigenetics, genomics, can- To develop its molecular portfolio, Dana-Farber inquiry-based roots to become a premier oncol- cer vaccines, immuno-oncology and others. has branched out to create startup compa- ogy research center poised for collaboration in a Another groundbreaking undertaking by the nies. The list of startups includes Acetylon number of different areas (Fig. 1). institute is the creation of one of the world’s larg- Pharmaceuticals, started in 2010, which Celgene est databases of genetic abnormalities in cancer has optioned to buy; Co-Stim, which was acquired Building new research initiatives cells. Called Profile, the program has amassed by Novartis; and Shape, acquired by Tetralogic. To create a successful translational infrastruc- more than 10,000 tumor genetic profiles since Dana-Farber’s successes in this area are note- ture, Dana-Farber has formed a suite of over 15 2011. Around 50% of the patients treated at worthy: 14 of the 15 most recent startups for Integrative Research Centers housing cutting- Dana-Farber have their tumor genomes repre- which Dana-Farber was the leading intellectual- edge technologies, designed to work with one sented in Profile. Scientists at the institute use property contributor have succeeded in raising another and with industry partners. This power- next-generation sequencing to analyze DNA significant funding or exiting through acquisition ful platform for drug discovery and development samples from participating cancer patients and or initial public offering. Startup activity is high in combines the efforts of physicians, biologists create personalized tumor profiles that can be the current favorable industry environment. and chemists to accelerate the discovery, evalu- cross-referenced against patient records and ation, refinement and early testing of potential samples. Currently, Profile scans over 300 can- Industry partnerships therapies. cer-related genes for mutations and other DNA Dana-Farber has a long-standing collaboration What’s more—and perhaps key—the roughly abnormalities to pinpoint the genetic roots of the with Novartis, dating from before the Ciba-Sandoz 200 researchers at these centers are all experi- cancer. Although Dana-Farber doesn’t license this merger. Partnerships with Janssen and Astellas enced Ph.D. investigators and technicians, and information, the data are available to researchers were announced in 2014. Many others exist but many of them have backgrounds in the pharma- at the institute and to their industry or academic have not been publicly released, and more than ceutical and biotechnology industries, which cre- collaborators for testing and investigation of sci- 60 industry-sponsored research projects are cur- ates a culture of accountability and goal-oriented entifically valid and useful questions. rently active. They range from focused projects in work. These centers cross-pollinate with one single laboratories to wide-ranging collaborations another and with the academic research com- From lab to licensing involving multiple investigators and centers. munity at Dana-Farber, creating an environment Dana-Farber boasts an impressive track record Dana-Farber accommodates the diverse needs where early-stage compounds from Dana-Farber in bringing novel therapies to the clinic. On the of these collaborative projects through a variety and from industry partners can be piloted all small-molecule front, Dana-Farber’s licensing of deal structures. “We don’t confine ourselves to the way to carefully designed phase 1 trials with partners brought six new chemical entities to one model, but rather look at the best way to get www.nature.com/biopharmadealmakers accompanying biomarkers. “Our centers are set phase 1 development between 2012 and 2015. the end result. Our flexibility and willingness to up to be translational and geared toward taking Two of these have progressed to phase 2 trials. focus on the endgame of new therapies is really new molecules into the clinic, in addition to sup- Dana-Farber owns or co-owns an extensive port- what guides us,” explained Das. “In the end, it all porting curiosity-driven research,” said O. Prem folio of patents relevant to PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibi- comes down to our research mission: tomorrow’s Das, Dana-Farber’s chief research business tors, currently licensed non-exclusively to most of cures through cutting-edge research.” development officer. the key players in this area. These antibodies are For example, Dana-Farber’s Belfer Institute for perhaps the most promising new weapons in the CONTACT DETAILS Applied Cancer Science focuses on industrial- long war on cancer, even raising hopes of a last- O. Prem Das, Chief Research Business dealmakers level target discovery, target validation and ing cure for some patients. In the area of cancer Development Officer compound development using patient-derived immunology and vaccines, the sustained effort Belfer Office for Dana-Farber Innovations, cell lines and xenograft models. It has long been put in by dedicated Dana-Farber investigators Dana-Farber Cancer Institute an active collaborator with industry. In 2014, the is bearing valuable fruit in the form of patient- Boston, Massachusetts, USA Belfer Institute entered a 3-year collaboration derived antibodies, novel vaccine technologies Tel: + 1-617-632-5893 with Johnson & Johnson Innovation Center. The and new antibody targets. Email: [email protected] biopharma ADVERTISER RETAINS SOLE RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONTENT B23.