May 18, 2017
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
SAN FRANCISCO – Roche subsidiary Genentech is known for the cancer treatments it has developed, including Perjeta, Herceptin, Gazyva, Xeloda, Tecentriq and more. Now the company is taking on cancer in another way–through funding research grants.
Once again Genentech is teaming up with Stand Up To Cancer, a partner of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), to finance multi-year grants for cancer research. Genentech, which also participated in the SU2C Catalyst grant program last year, is expected to fund one or more grants, in the range of $1 million to $3 million.
Clinical trials will be at the heart of each grant proposal, SU2C said in a statement. Dr. Raymond N. DuBois, dean of the College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, and chair of the SU2C Catalyst Genentech Steering Subcommittee, praised Genentech’s support for the grant program.
“We are grateful for Genentech’s continuing support of SU2C research and for the extraordinary role the company has played in developing immunotherapy and targeted treatments for many different types of cancer, Dubois said in a statement. “Immunotherapy and targeted therapies have made great inroads in treating cancer, but much more work must be done to expand their reach and effectiveness.”
Edith Perez, head of U.S. Medical Affairs, BioOncology for Genentech, said cancer is complicated and it’s important that Genentech makes its medicines available to the research community through programs like SU2C Catalyst.
“It is through collaboration that we can collectively advance treatments to improve outcomes for people with cancer,” Perez said.
Proposals for the Genentech-supported grants must be submitted by noon EST on June 27. Proposals must be submitted through the proposal website at www.proposalcentral.altum.com.
The Genentech-funded projects will support clinical trials focusing on new uses for 14 approved or investigational medicines, including:
• Atezolizumab (TECENTRIQ)
• Bevacizumab (Avastin) with atezolizumab or other immune modulating agents
• Alectinib (Alecensa)
• Cobimetinib (Cotellic)
• Vemurafenib (Zelboraf)
• Vismodegib (Erivedge)
• Trastuzumab (Herceptin) plus pertuzumab (Perjeta) in this combination only
• Obinutuzumab (Gazyva)
• Anti-OX40 alone or combination with atezolizumab only
• CEA-CD3 T-cell bispecific antibody (TCB) contingent on ongoing developments from the Genentech/Roche clinical development program
• Emactuzumab
• Anti-CD40
• Idasanutlin
The research parameters are fairly broad, but SU2C said each of 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. The full guideline for the research parameters can be found in the press release.
Each SU2C 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.
In addition to Genentech, Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb are also sponsoring Stand Up To Cancer Catalyst programs.
