Charities join forces to transform treatment for children with cancer

A pioneering initiative to develop new medicines exclusively for children’s and young people’s cancers, has been launched LifeArc and Cancer Research UK.

C-Further international consortium

C-Further is an international consortium bringing together researchers, clinicians, investors and other partners to address the “market failure” in delivering new drugs for paediatric cancer – which often results in treatments stalling before reaching the clinic.

The pipeline of new paediatric cancer medicines is limited. From 2007 to 2022, only two drugs specifically for childhood cancers were approved by the EMA and five by the FDA. In contrast, 14 new cancer medicines for adults received FDA approval in 2023 alone.

C-Further, launched by LifeArc and Cancer Research UK’s innovation arm, Cancer Research Horizons, aims to remove some of the barriers that can halt the progress of research. C-Further will also create a sustainable model that prioritises the rapid advancement of innovative ideas into new medicines for young patients.

“Although survival rates for children with cancer have improved in recent decades, children are often left with life-changing side effects from their treatment.

“Most of the current treatments for childhood cancers were developed for adults and there is an urgent need for safer, more effective solutions for children.

“C-Further is an opportunity to address the challenges that are making it difficult to get new, bespoke drugs to market and drive forward life-changing innovations that will give children and young people affected by cancer the best quality of life.”
Dr David Jenkinson, Head of Childhood Cancer at LifeArc

“Children’s cancers have unique biology and the reality is that it’s incredibly difficult to design drugs for cancers that affect children and young people.

“However, it’s not the sole factor impacting the rate at which new drugs enter the clinic. There is a market failure in paediatric oncology.

“C-Further is not just another initiative; it’s a beacon of hope for families facing the devastating diagnosis of childhood cancer.

“Our goal is to ensure that children and young people receive drugs designed specifically for their unique needs, reducing the long-term side effects that many young survivors endure.

“This consortium is about changing the narrative for young cancer patients and giving them the chance to live longer, better lives.”
Dr Iain Foulkes, Executive Director of Research and Innovation, Cancer Research UK and Chief Executive Officer, Cancer Research Horizons

Parent hugging child after cancer treatment

LifeArc and Cancer Research UK are jointly investing more than £28m in funding and resources over the next five years, and the initiative’s early phase will focus on inviting researchers worldwide to submit their ideas for new paediatric medicines with the potential to change clinical practice. From there, the consortium will select projects to receive a package of support, which could include funding, access to cutting-edge drug discovery facilities, expert support and comprehensive resources to help projects to progress from the lab bench to patients’ bedsides.

C-Further aims to identify new ways to navigate the sparse and challenging pipeline for paediatric treatments. For example, the consortium will:

Act as a bridge between the international research community and therapeutic development experts.
Develop a diverse portfolio of potential new therapeutics at various stages of development.
Work towards new sustainable models, seeking funding from various sources – charitable, private and public – to support the development of bespoke cancer treatments.

To maintain the viability and momentum of these efforts, C-Further will attract investors and partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies in addition to other partners.

C-Further is encouraging interested teams to visit the C-Further website to find out more about the initiative, including how to submit proposals.