EMA, NCI, and EORTC agree on first of its kind meeting: IBCD, Innovation and Biomarkers in Cancer Drug Development

The EORTC is proud to announce the signing of an agreement with the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to produce a first of its kind meeting to collaboratively explore current issues in cancer drug development. IBCD, Innovation and Biomarkers in Cancer Drug Development, will be held 3-4 December 2015 at the Square Brussels Meeting Centre and convene the multiple cancer research stakeholders needed for effective cancer drug development.

Dr. Denis Lacombe, EORTC Director and Co-Chair of IBCD points out, “The need for just such a meeting had been apparent for some time. Indeed, the clinical trial landscape has changed, and new forms of partnership are now essential for bringing precision medicine treatments to patients with cancer. In one sense, IBCD is already a success: it has assembled the ideal partners to ensure that this meeting is not only a reality, but also a worthwhile and productive exercise. It has generated considerable interest, and consequently we now anticipate broadening this formal partnership to also include the American Association for Cancer Research, AACR. Overall, IBCD truly marks a landmark collaboration involving an academic research organization, a regulatory agency, a governmental institution, and a professional association. These fundamental partners are all united by a desire to produce a meeting aligning cancer clinical research stakeholders towards a common goal.”

The IBCD Scientific Committee envisions a comprehensive program, and sessions will include presentations, panel discussions, and debates. Quality assurance and quality control from pre-analytical steps to clinical utility will be addressed for the successful integration of assays and imaging into drug development. Hence, embracing the full scope from the perspective of clinical trials and beyond into clinical practice. Sessions covering regulatory issues will undoubtedly benefit from the presence of EMA representatives on the IBCD Scientific Organizing Committee to discuss a concrete challenges of drug development in Europe as well as approaching future directions on a global scale, and an interactive session bringing together regulatory agency and pharmaceutical industry representatives to discuss a concrete challenges of drug development in Europe. So too will a session focusing on solutions and guidance for generating data and methods for data interpretation in an evolving complex field of multidimensional data. Here, practical aspects will be addressed so as to offer solutions not only for research aspects but also feeding into clinical practice and implementation. A panel discussion will also look into the impact on healthcare systems, a multi-stakeholder societal challenge for research, pharma, and patients, and could eventually touch on the topic of adaptive licensing. Looking forward, IBCD will delve into new emerging opportunities and how these might best be used to enhance our understanding of cancer biology and integrate potential developments into therapies. The participation of industry at IBCD will be strongly encouraged, especially from their perspective on the sustainability of new drug development models.

Registration for IBCD, Innovation and Biomarkers in Cancer Drug Development opens on 21 March 2015. Poster abstract submission will be open from 27 April 2015 to 29 June 2015.

John Bean, PhD
EORTC, Medical Science Writer