| Oct 31, 2011 |
National Cancer Institute announces public-private industry partnership on translation of nanotechnology in cancer
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(Nanowerk News) The Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer of the National
Cancer Institute (NCI) is initiating a public private industry
partnership called TONIC (Translation Of Nanotechnology In Cancer) to
promote translational research and development opportunities of
nanotechnology-based cancer solutions. An immediate consequence of this
effort will be the formation of a consortium involving government and
pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies. This consortium will
evaluate promising nanotechnology platforms and facilitate their
successful translation from academic research to clinical environment,
resulting in safe, timely, effective and novel diagnosis and treatment
options for cancer patients.
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The purpose of this notice is to inform the community about the
Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer of NCI's intention to form the
consortium and to invite eligible companies (as defined in last
paragraph) to participate.
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DATES: Interested parties should contact Ms. Sonia Calcagno
([email protected]) and inform her of their intention to
participate. This notice will remain open to accept the inquiries and
letters of intent.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Sonia Calcagno
([email protected]).
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
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Background: The National Cancer Institute established the Alliance
for Nanotechnology in Cancer (ANC) program in September 2004 to
facilitate the discovery and development of innovative nanotechnologies
for applications in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment and to
address different stages of the developmental pipeline ranging from
discovery, applied research through translation. The program has been
providing funding to academic groups to support large multi-
disciplinary projects--Centers for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence
(CCNEs) along with smaller Cancer Nanotechnology Platform Partnerships
(CNPPs) and training programs. NCI also formed an intramural
laboratory, the Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL), to
serve as a centralized facility to characterize nanomaterials.
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A proposed TONIC consortium will operate in parallel with the
Alliance program and will bring together individuals from sufficiently
capitalized pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other healthcare-related companies and start-ups, which either have
ongoing internal efforts within their organization or have strategic
interest in evaluating the nanotechnology platforms for oncology care
solutions, through participating in a academic-private partnership
aimed at promoting translational opportunities.
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Consortium Goals: Specifically, the TONIC consortium will undertake
the key tasks of:
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1. Creating a Discussion Forum for opportunities in the
nanotechnology platform drug delivery, monitoring and imaging
specifically in cancer, but may extend it to other therapeutic
indications if an opportunity arises;
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2. Developing a Roadmap for the development of nanotechnology-based
cancer products;
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3. Developing a robust translational model to move promising
opportunities based on nanotechnology from academic research to the
clinical environment;
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4. Evaluating the most promising technology candidates within
existing R&D developments and generating Case Studies based on them;
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5. Recognizing and promoting translational efforts at every stage
of development through appropriate partnerships among industry,
academia, government, and philanthropy.
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Consortium Membership: Membership to the TONIC consortium will be
limited to companies which (1) Have a successful track record of
translating diagnostics and drug formulations and reaching their
regulatory approval and, (2) are engaged in the development of
nanotechnology-based formulations with application to imaging,
diagnostics and therapy.
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In addition, these companies should have (1) A corporate structure
with centralized operations and, (2) the capability and resources to
move along the translational efforts effectively and to provide
feedback to the academic researchers on industry technological needs.
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| Consortia members will be expected to attend regular meetings and
participate in the project evaluation funded through TONIC consortium.
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The following information must be provided by parties interested in
participating in the consortium:
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(1) The company profile;
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(2) The name and specific function of the company representative
for the TONIC consortium; and
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(3) A brief rationale and/or statement of intent for participating
in the consortium.
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