Cancer Research Horizons appoints Clinical Advisory Board to help guide drug discovery projects into the clinic

Cancer Research Horizons, the innovation arm of Cancer Research UK, has appointed its first Clinical Advisory Board to provide strategic guidance on the development of novel cancer therapeutics emerging from its drug discovery division, Therapeutic Innovation.

The Clinical Advisory Board brings together world-leading oncologists with expertise in early-phase clinical trials. The board will assess the clinical positioning and utility of drug discovery projects, ensuring that medical need and patient impact are central to decision-making from the earliest stages of target selection.

The appointment of the Clinical Advisory Board further supports Therapeutic Innovation’s new strategy to build its own pipeline of promising assets and direct them into the clinic, either at Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development or through industry partnership, offering an end-to-end model that accelerates the development of innovative treatments for people with cancer.

The Clinical Advisory Board comprises: 
 

• Ruth Plummer (Chair), Clinical Professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine at Newcastle University, UK, who leads a portfolio of trials across all phases of drug development, including small molecules, novel antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) and immuno-oncology agents, as well as cellular therapies, specialising in DNA repair inhibitors. 
• Elena Garralda, Director of Early Drug Development at Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, Spain, who specialises in proof-of-concept trials of targeted therapies, particularly in cell signalling, cancer stem cells and immuno-oncology.
• Lillian Siu, Professor of Medicine at University of Toronto, Canada, an expert in cancer genomics, liquid biopsies, and the development of new anti-cancer drugs, particularly ADCs and immuno-oncology trials.
• Tim Yap, Ransom Horne, Jr. Endowed Professor for Cancer Research, VP and Head of Clinical Development, Therapeutics Discovery Division and Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics (Phase I Program) at MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA, who specialises in first-in-human trials and combinatorial studies, with broad experience in precision medicine, synthetic lethality, immuno-oncology and novel biomarker strategies.
  
  Steve Wedge, Chief Scientific Officer at Cancer Research Horizons, said: “The Clinical Advisory Board’s expertise will be instrumental in helping us translate cutting-edge science into impactful treatments for patients. By embedding clinical perspectives early in the drug discovery selection process, we are strengthening our ability to rapidly deliver therapies that address unmet medical needs in cancer.” 

ENDS