Cancer immunotherapy, and in particular immune checkpoint blockade, has transformed oncology with the potential for durable responses even in patients with metastatic disease. To date, regulatory approvals and clinical trials have focused on the study of these agents in relatively more common tumor types, such as melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, bladder cancer, and kidney cancer, amongst others.
President Joe Biden’s proposed Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health would be a welcome partner to NCI—particularly in conducting large, collaborative clinical investigations, NCI Director Ned Sharpless said.“I think having ARPA-H as part of the NIH is good for the NCI,” Sharpless said April 11 in his remarks at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. “How this would fit with the ongoing efforts in cancer at the NCI is still something to work out.”
