The internationally-recognized,  Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) at Queen’s University, together with the US-based Cancer Research Institute (CRI), announced a multi-year, multi-trial collaboration today, designed to accelerate the clinical development of new immunotherapy treatments for cancer.

There are currently 940 immunotherapy agents in clinical development, all of which have the potential to improve the standard of care for patients fighting myriad types of cancer.  This new partnership will combine CRI’s expertise in immunology research and therapy with CCTG’s expertise in the design and execution of clinical trials to improve the practice of treating cancer and to enhance the quality of life for cancer survivors.  The collaboration is a multi-trial agreement over a five-year period.

“International collaborations and partnerships are essential to the success of clinical trials and are critical in moving the cancer research agenda forward. We will leverage the strengths of both CCTG and CRI in this strategic collaboration, to bring important improvements in cancer therapies to the patients who need them,” says Janet Dancey, CCTG Director.

Broadly, immunotherapies work by stimulating a patient’s own immune system to attack the disease, either by generally strengthening its function or by leveraging it to target cancer cells.

“Combating cancer demands the expertise and cooperation of the world’s top minds,” says John Fisher, Interim Vice-Principal (Research). “Queen’s University has long been the home of CCTG’s groundbreaking research group, which includes many of our esteemed faculty members. We are very proud to see their efforts continue to evolve into exciting international collaborations like this newly-minted partnership with the renowned Cancer Research Institute.”

CRI is a non-profit organization that has supported the discovery and development of immunotherapeutic cancer treatments for 65 years. Its unique clinical program, the Anna-Maria Kellen Clinical Accelerator, supports non-profit, academia, and industry partnerships designed to develop and organize the clinical study of combination cancer immunotherapies. 

“This collaboration is what great partnerships look like – uniting CRI’s cancer immunology expertise with the clinical research expertise and global footprint at CCTG, which I’ve observed is the fastest and most effective cooperative group worldwide,” says Aiman Shalabi, Chief Medical Officer, Clinical Accelerator, CRI. “Together, and with our combined global expert network, we will accelerate innovation for patients.”

CCTG is a non-profit cancer research cooperative and is recognized as being one of the most impactful and influential research groups, with a proven record of accomplishment in the rapid and efficient conduct of studies across an extensive network in Canada and around the world. Currently, CCTG is running phase I-III trials of cancer treatment and supportive therapies at over 80 institutions across Canada and internationally.