NCCN Research & Business Resources
Research Boards and Committees
Scientific Advisory Boards (SAB): Highly distinguished scientific
advisors in oncology representing the country’s top academic institutions serve
as advisors on drug-specific scientific advisory boards for Drug Pipeline Review.
The NCCN ORP works with industry collaborators to identify and enlist key thought
leaders to serve on these boards from NCCN Member Institutions.
RFP Development Teams (RFPDTs):These are committees of expert leaders
from NCCN Member Institutions who guide the development of Requests for Proposals
(RFPs). The committees focus on formulating projects around the research priorities
established through discussions with industry collaborators. Team members specialize
in the scientific or clinical research areas of interest to oversee the development
of RFPs which elicit proposals that yield studies of high scientific and clinical
value. Grantor representative(s) serve as members of the teams in an advisory capacity.
Protocol Development Teams (PDT): Experts with expertise in specific
scientific and clinical areas form teams to work with industry collaborators to
design protocols and identify Study Chairs or Principal Investigator(s) to conduct
studies. Industry collaborators participate in meetings and, depending on whether
a study is to be conducted as an investigator initiated trial or as an industry
sponsored trial, may serve in either an advisory or a decision-making role.
Scientific Review Committees (SRC): The NCCN ORP establishes qualified
Scientific Review Committees (SRCs) to conduct the peer review of research proposals
received in response to RFPs. SRC members are from NCCN Member Institutions and
have expertise in the specific therapeutic areas relevant to the research project.
The NCCN ORP SRC review process meets the general NIH standards of peer review and
funding by meeting the following three criteria:
- the peer review system uses external reviewers and is free of conflict-of-interest
- the ranking or rating system in the review process is based on the scientific merit
of the proposed research
- the funding system is based primarily on the peer review ranking or rating of the
research application.
The NCCN ORP requires major reviews by two (2) members of the SRC with discussion
and ranking of proposals by all members of the SRC. Grantor representatives serve
in an advisory capacity to these committees and are given the opportunity to review
each of the proposals prior to the formal review. Grantors may request elimination
of particular proposals from scientific review if they duplicate already well-studied
concepts or raise safety concerns.