Our Impact
Future-Proof Drug Development
Advancing cancer treatment requires more than new scientific discoveries. We also need to improve the way we translate science into impact for patients.
Our vision: a world where cancer patients can access personalized treatments developed by innovative and integrated R&D ecosystems
At Oncode Accelerator, we are working to accelerate and de-risk cancer drug development by creating a lasting oncology ecosystem that includes all the key stakeholders needed to improve how therapies are discovered, tested, and translated to patients.
By bringing together academic researchers, biotech and pharma experts, technology developers, physicians, and regulators, we enable faster, more predictive, and human-relevant oncology research and therapy development. To amplify our impact, we work collaboratively with a wide range of institutes, companies, public-private programs, and charities.
Our scientific approach combines rigorous validation of new and innovative technologies and approaches, regulatory science, and collaborative development. This positions Oncode Accelerator to deliver lasting impact, by improving preclinical research as well as building a future-proof translational oncology ecosystem.
From Innovation to Impact
Demonstrator Projects are at the core of our program. Alongside providing drug developers with the co-funding, expertise, tools and infrastructure needed to accelerate the development of new cancer therapies, Demonstrator Projects help validate the use of our innovative approach. This includes the use of new organoids or organ-on-a-chip models, as well as novel artificial intelligence algorithms in cancer drug development. These are also referred to as new approach methodologies (NAMs).
By applying new methods and technology prototypes within real oncology drug development programs, we generate evidence of their value in addressing key development challenges. This facilitates adoption of new technologies that provide human-relevant alternatives to traditional research models such as animal models.
Read More About Demonstrator Projects
Our approach allows us to:
- Generate actionable data for decision-making in drug development
- Enhance the translational relevance of preclinical research to improve prediction of clinical outcomes
- Support broader adoption of innovations across academic, biotech, and pharmaceutical settings
Evidence-Based Innovation in Preclinical Drug Development
Using new and innovative technologies can help scientists to develop better therapies, faster. At Oncode Accelerator, we focus on three innovation Platforms that develop new models, methods, and tools to improve preclinical research and make the development of new cancer therapies more efficient: Organoids, well-defined Patient Cohorts, and Artificial Intelligence.
The experts from our innovation Platforms are actively developing innovations that can accelerate and de-risk the development of small molecules, biologics, cell and gene therapies, and therapeutic vaccines.
By generating robust evidence to show how these models perform, where they add value, and how they can be applied to accelerate and de-risk the development of new therapies, we can have a lasting impact on the way new cancer therapies are developed.
This enables drug development teams to make informed choices about which tools are most suitable to use in the development of different types of therapies, which will ultimately maximize the predictive value of preclinical testing. It also strengthens our foundation for innovation in drug development through rigorous science, enables engagement with regulatory authorities around the use of innovations, and helps accelerate technology adoption.
In summary, future-proof drug development requires better models to enable better decision-making based on stronger evidence. This will help de-risk and advance therapeutic development. Eventually, the future of oncology will not be shaped by scientific breakthroughs alone, but by how effectively those breakthroughs are translated into clinical impact.
Regulating Tomorrow’s Cancer Therapies
New and innovative models, tools, and strategies do not always fit within existing regulatory pathways. Because we want these innovations to be used in therapy development, in some cases we also need to innovate how new technologies are regulated. Otherwise, promising discoveries may linger in the lab.
This is where Regulatory Innovation becomes essential in our mission to optimize and accelerate the development of new cancer therapies for the benefit of patients of all ages.
At Oncode Accelerator, our Regulatory Innovation Workstream works to identify which platform technologies need to be developed with regulatory acceptance in mind, since not all tools, models, and methods are relevant to regulators. The Workstream also supports promising technologies in being accepted, implemented, and used in therapy development.
Regulatory Innovation and Regulatory Science in Practice
Regulatory innovation is anticipatory: it starts with the end in mind. Our regulatory innovation approach first addresses underlying questions about what technologies we would like to have, and what types of drug development we want to do. This can then help us to design and develop new technological innovations that solve real challenges in drug development.
Our Regulatory Innovation Workstream has four key areas of practice.
Technology Use in Regulatory Environments
To assess how the innovation Platform technologies within Oncode Accelerator are currently used, and why regulators accept them or not, PhD students from the Regulatory Innovation Workstream are embedded into the scientific teams of the Platforms. These young investigators become experts on regulatory frameworks around the use of Organoids, well-defined Patient Cohorts, and AI in cancer drug development, and identify lessons that help researchers to leverage innovative technologies and develop new tools, methods, and models that will be accepted by regulators.
Regulatory Intelligence Tools
The Regulatory Innovation Workstream develops ‘Regulatory Intelligence’ tools to support regulatory science research, such as the European Medicines Regulatory Database (EMRD). The EMRD provides a one-stop shop for researchers, patients, and other stakeholders to access information about medicines approved in Europe.
Mapping Paths to Regulatory Acceptance
Our Regulatory Innovation Workstream works directly with scientists to understand how their innovations can be accepted by regulators in the future. By understanding what researchers encounter in practice, identifying common challenges, isolating best practices, and mapping useful strategies, we can develop an iterative learning process.
Educating Innovators
Based on insights from working directly with technology developers, our Regulatory Innovation Workstream develops trainings and other educational material to help researchers navigate the complicated regulatory landscape. In this way, we aim to help researchers become more aware of how regulators think, and think ahead about possible routes towards regulatory acceptance of new technologies.
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