News Details
NCCN Announces Funding for Prostate Cancer Research Projects, in Collaboration with Pfizer
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s Oncology Research Program to oversee projects focused on the use of talazoparib in treating people with prostate cancer.
PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [December 16, 2021] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) Oncology Research Program (ORP) today announced a collaboration with Pfizer Global Medical Grants (Pfizer) that awards new grants to advance the understanding of the mechanisms of action, underlying biology, and clinical activity of talazoparib in prostate cancer.
“This research will involve innovative investigations of talazoparib and foster the development of PARP inhibitors in prostate cancer,” said Crystal S. Denlinger, MD, FACP, Senior Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer, NCCN. “Congratulations to all of the grantees. We look forward to results that may guide the development of talazoparib alone or in combination with other therapies in prostate cancer.”
The selected projects are:
- Adam Kibel, MD, and Oliver Jonas, PhD, Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center
- “Intratumor Microdevice to Identify Biomarkers and Pathways Associated with Response to Talazoparib”
- Amado Zurita-Saavedra, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
- “Presurgical Phase II Study of Talazoparib in Combination with Enzalutamide in De Novo Metastatic to Lymph Nodes Prostate Cancer”
From left: Drs. Kibel, Jonas, and Zurita-Saavedra.
“We have seen incredible progress in the treatment of prostate cancer over the last decade, however, there continues to be a need for ongoing innovation to support improved patient outcomes,” said Dr. Roxanne Ferdinand, Genitourinary (GU) Global Franchise Medical Lead, Pfizer Oncology. “Pfizer is committed to collaborating with professional organizations like NCCN to fund research that helps to advance our understanding of how different therapies can address unmet needs. We look forward to seeing how these efforts help to progress patient care.”
Proposals were peer reviewed by a Scientific Review Committee, which consisted of leading expert oncologists from NCCN Member Institutions. The selected priority areas will focus on clinical development of talazoparib combinations, defining predictive biomarkers of clinical benefit. The studies are set to be completed within two years. Collectively, the total amount of grants awarded for this study are approximately $1.5 million.
The NCCN ORP fosters innovation and knowledge discovery that improves the lives of people with cancer and supports preclinical, translational, and clinical research and quality improvement projects in oncology at NCCN Member Institutions. In an effort to improve collaboration in cancer research, the NCCN ORP also maintains a shared resources website, an informed consent database, and points to consider on the best practices for biorepositories, registries, and databases. For more information, visit NCCN.org/orp.
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About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) is a not-for-profit alliance of leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education. NCCN is dedicated to improving and facilitating quality, effective, equitable, and accessible cancer care so all patients can live better lives. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) provide transparent, evidence-based, expert consensus recommendations for cancer treatment, prevention, and supportive services; they are the recognized standard for clinical direction and policy in cancer management and the most thorough and frequently-updated clinical practice guidelines available in any area of medicine. The NCCN Guidelines for Patients® provide expert cancer treatment information to inform and empower patients and caregivers, through support from the NCCN Foundation®. NCCN also advances continuing education, global initiatives, policy, and research collaboration and publication in oncology. Visit NCCN.org for more information and follow NCCN on Facebook @NCCNorg, Instagram @NCCNorg, and Twitter @NCCN.