The Association of American Cancer Institutes and the White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force are developing a new method for funding research at academic cancer centers through private investment and philanthropy.
The move promises to establish a mechanism for matching investors with commercially viable research. It appears that this system would work separately from NCI.
The Cancer Letter obtained a copy of a letter that AACI sent to cancer center directors and administrators, asking them to identify projects that private investors and philanthropists might find attractive.
The letter was sent out early last month. According to the letter, “projects that would make sense include, but are not limited to:
- Projects with a scope outside of the NCI Blue Ribbon Panel but within the scope of the Moonshot areas of interest.
- Projects that include community extension and/or multiple cancer centers
- ROI in 2-3 years
- Projects that would be of interest to the private and philanthropic sector
- Projects that have high commercialization potential
- Implementation of high impact technology.”
The initial deadline to submit proposals was Aug. 15, but AACI said it would accept proposals through Aug. 29.
To date, AACI has received at least 220 proposal submissions from 55 cancer centers, the association’s officials said to The Cancer Letter. “We’d like to keep the responders’ names confidential at this preliminary stage of the review process,” AACI officials said in a statement to The Cancer Letter.
The timing for soliciting proposals was compressed.
“We know you will have many questions that we cannot answer, and that the timeline is short,” AACI leaders wrote in the letter to center directors and administrators. “It does not allow for extensive discussion within AACI or your own cancer center, and falls right smack in the middle of vacation season. Nevertheless, this is a unique opportunity.”
According to the letter, earlier this summer AACI sent a white paper to the Office of the Vice President.
The document, which was put together under leadership of AACI President-Elect Stanton Gerson, director of Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, proposed “including the academic cancer centers as the focal point for broader community access,” the AACI letter to center directors and administrators said. “The white paper focused on the broad impact AACI centers have on cancer care and novel therapy through clinical trials.”
Subsequently, Greg Simon, executive director of the Cancer Moonshot Task Force, asked that AACI coordinate “the collection of projects from the cancer centers.”
The association was asked to submit “a ‘portfolio’ of development projects at the cancer centers that are appropriate for potential investment from private capital.”
According to the AACI letter to center directors and administrators, Simon said that the Office of the Vice President would then “socialize the portfolio with people we are already talking with who are interested in reviewing them for potential partnerships/investment.”
The white paper prepared by Gerson hasn’t been made public. “The white paper is still in draft form and has not been approved by AACI’s board of directors, so it’s not yet ready to share,” AACI officials said to The Cancer Letter. “Its focus is on the unique role the cancer centers can play in advancing the goals of the moonshot.”
The AACI initiative is a laudable effort to accelerate support for cancer research, said Kevin Cullen, director of the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Maryland.
“Traditional government-funded peer review mechanisms are overly burdened by process and reward conservative, incremental science,” Cullen said to The Cancer Letter. “The current reality is that donors want to know what they are supporting and are more likely to give to specific projects and areas than to support research broadly.
“One of the positive aspects of the moonshot is an effort to engage the public to more passionately support cancer research. In some ways the moonshot is reminiscent of an earlier effort led by Mary Lasker and others to galvanize the public and government in the fight against cancer.
“The result was the National Cancer Act of 1971—two years after the landing on the moon—that launched the modern era of cancer research.”
Weiner: “A Matchmaking Exercise”
While science is advancing rapidly, NCI’s success rates for grant funding remain low–13 percent in FY2015, AACI officials say. This has created an urgent need for additional funding, said AACI President George Weiner, director of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa.
“Our researchers have many excellent ideas that they cannot currently pursue because of limited funding, so we are not surprised by this number [of proposal submissions],” Weiner said to The Cancer Letter. “There is a broad range of projects proposed, going from new basic ideas to novel clinical trials. We expect more will be coming.”
It’s unclear who will be responsible for reviewing grants or development projects, or whether peer review will be necessary.
“At the present time, this effort is viewed as more of a ‘matchmaking’ exercise rather than a granting mechanism,” Weiner said to The Cancer Letter. “We hope those with private capital will get excited enough by some of these ideas that they will be willing to help support them.”
Vice President Biden and his moonshot initiative are focused on creating new partnerships, Weiner said.
“The VP has stated an interest in facilitating interactions between sectors to accelerate progress in cancer research,” Weiner said. “Cancer centers already collaborate extensively with the private sector, so this was a natural extension.”
The text of the letter from AACI to cancer directors follows:
Dear AACI Cancer Center Director and Administrator:
As you are aware, the Cancer Moonshot team is interested in new collaborations, and the initiative offers the potential for novel funding beyond the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
A few weeks ago, the AACI (under President-Elect Stan Gerson’s leadership) provided a white paper to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) that promoted including the academic cancer centers as the focal point for broader community access. The white paper focused on the broad impact AACI centers have on cancer care and novel therapy through clinical trials.
This week, we received a remarkable request from Cancer Moonshot Task Force Executive Director Greg Simon. Mr. Simon asked that we coordinate, through the AACI, the collection of projects from the cancer centers. Specifically, verbatim, we were asked to submit…
“A ‘portfolio’ of development projects at the cancer centers that are appropriate for potential investment from private capital. We (OVP) can then socialize the portfolio with people we are already talking with who are interested in reviewing them for potential partnerships/investment.”
The list of potential funders with a very broad spectrum of interests that has expressed interest in supporting Moonshot initiatives is impressive and includes those that focus on both philanthropy and venture capital. This is what we know (and yes, we know the term “development project” is unclear). We also sense the window of opportunity is very narrow.
Based on discussions such as those which took place at the Washington, DC, Moonshot Summit, projects that would make sense include, but are not limited to:
- Projects with a scope outside of the NCI Blue Ribbon Panel but within the scope of the Moonshot areas of interest.
- Projects that include community extension and/or multiple cancer centers
- ROI in 2-3 years
- Projects that would be of interest to the private and philanthropic sector
- Projects that have high commercialization potential
- Implementation of high impact technology
We know you will have many questions that we cannot answer, and that the timeline is short. It does not allow for extensive discussion within AACI or your own cancer center and falls right smack in the middle of vacation season. Nevertheless, this is a unique opportunity.
We therefore ask that you fill out the attached 1 page form identifying potential “development projects” you would like to submit to the OVP, and send it to us at jen@aaci-cancer.org by the OVP’s preferred deadline of close of business, Monday, August 15.
The OVP is requesting a quick turnaround on this submission, but AACI will accept submissions until August 29. Please do not disclose anything in your proposal that you view as confidential or proprietary as this will be reviewed in the public domain.
We certainly can try to answer any questions you may have, but at this point, we really don’t know more than we have outlined above.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
George Weiner, AACI President
Stan Gerson, AACI President-Elect
Barbara Duffy Stewart, AACI Executive Director
