Introduction
Welcome to the 2022/23 annual review for Cancer Research Horizons, the innovation arm of Cancer Research UK. Cancer Research Horizons comprises extensive commercialisation and drug discovery expertise and platforms to translate Cancer Research UK’s research outputs into patient and public benefit.
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A statement from Iain Foulkes
Cancer Research Horizons marks year one
Cancer Research Horizons was built to operate at the interface between world-class research labs and industry partners – it is an engine that will accelerate the translation of cutting edge-science into innovations available to patients around the world.
A year ago, we drove a significant amount of change to form Cancer Research Horizons. We brought together six research units into one drug discovery organisation under one leadership team and provided more funding to advance novel, much-needed therapeutic approaches. We created the Ventures team, with access to a Seed Fund, which is helping to create exciting new startups; we created an in-licence team that can advance cutting edge early clinical programmes in partnership with an extraordinary network of early-stage clinical experts; and we strengthened our programmes to help support a talented generation of new entrepreneurs.
Cancer Research Horizons represents a critical part of Cancer Research UK’s translational infrastructure. As a result of our work, there are currently 11 drugs on the market that have resulted in over six million courses of treatment to patients worldwide; over £600m has been delivered back to Cancer Research UK and its partners to further advance cancer research; and our startup companies have raised over £3bn in external investment to date to support R&D.
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A statement from Iain Foulkes
Iain Foulkes
Chief Executive Officer,
Cancer Research Horizons
"A year ago, we drove a significant amount of change to form Cancer Research Horizons"
Cancer Research Horizons marks year one
Cancer Research Horizons was built to operate at the interface between world-class research labs and industry partners – it is an engine that will accelerate the translation of cutting edge-science into innovations available to patients around the world.
A year ago, we drove a significant amount of change to form Cancer Research Horizons. We brought together six research units into one drug discovery organisation under one leadership team and provided more funding to advance novel, much-needed therapeutic approaches. We created the Ventures team, with access to a seed fund, which is helping to create exciting new startups; we created an in-licence team that can advance cutting edge early clinical programmes in partnership with an extraordinary network of early-stage clinical experts; and we strengthened our programmes to help support a talented generation of new entrepreneurs.
Cancer Research Horizons represents a critical part of Cancer Research UK’s translational infrastructure. As a result of our work, there are currently 11 drugs on the market that have resulted in over six million courses of treatment to patients worldwide; over £600m has been delivered back to Cancer Research UK and its partners to further advance cancer research; and our startup companies have raised over £3bn in external investment to date to support R&D.
Partnership is key to everything we do at Cancer Research Horizons. Be that with Cancer Research UK-funded academics in partner institutions, the venture community that helps us take the necessary risks to accelerate the advance of new products, or the biopharma industry that helps us develop the treatments of tomorrow.
More specific to 2022, we saw progress in an alternative treatment option for breast cancer in patients who become resistant to existing therapies with the positive Phase 3 results of capiversatib – a new form of protein kinase B inhibitors. This drug is the result of a partnership that spans the Institute of Cancer Research, Cancer Research Horizons, Astex Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca.
This year, Cancer Research Horizons has continued to take on the tough challenges. Rare cancers present such a challenge and globally make up 22% of total cancer diagnosis each year. Despite their prevalence, the patients who suffer from these cancers have few if any treatment options. In 2022, our Centre for Drug Development (CDD), with the help of Cancer Research Horizons, launched DETERMINE, the first UK-wide national precision medicine trial in rare cancers, testing a range of therapies specifically targeting key genetic changes in cancer cells. This open platform trial, managed by the CDD and University of Manchester, provides an opportunity for different pharmaceutical companies to investigate whether an existing licensed drug could also benefit patients with rare cancers. Two major pharmaceutical companies are currently collaborating with the platform trial.
Sustaining strong bridges between academic researchers and industry is integral to our ability to keep the ground-breaking ideas and discoveries flowing to patient benefit. This year we were therefore pleased to see Astex extend its 15-year alliance with Newcastle University and Cancer Research Horizons, for five more years.
The Cancer Research Horizons Innovation & Entrepreneurship Awards 2022 marked our inaugural event for recognising the UK's most innovative and enterprising efforts to translate discoveries into benefit for cancer patients. The evening succeeded in highlighting the accomplishments of the UK’s biopharmaceutical entrepreneurs, but I was especially pleased to hear the buzz of conversation that permeated the event as early career entrepreneurs engaged with serial entrepreneurs and seasoned CEOs. You can catch a glimpse of the evening and learn more about the winners in this review.
With 18.1 million new cases of cancer diagnosed worldwide in 2020, and data suggesting that number will increase to 28 million by 2040, our dedication to advancing outstanding science to unlock new innovations to treat unmet clinical need is unwavering. I hope you find this review inspiring and a demonstrable commitment to working in partnership to deliver benefits on behalf of patients everywhere.
Executive leadership team
“Our teams and networks remain poised to translate innovations and act as a trusted partner for industry and academia.”
Tony Hickson
Chief Business Officer,
Cancer Research Horizons
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Tony Hickson
Chief Business Officer,
Cancer Research Horizons
This year Cancer Research Horizons marked the first anniversary since fully integrating the Commercial Partnerships division with Therapeutic Innovation’s drug discovery capabilities, as well as a season of sustainability and growth for the Commercial Partnerships team and our portfolio.
Against the industry background of the IPO window remaining largely closed, and venture investors tightening their belts, our Search & Evaluation function helped the organisation rise to new levels of engagement with principal investigators and, in meeting with unique companies, the commercial teams demonstrated a similar uptick. In 2022/23, the number of patent filings and active licencing agreements we concluded continued to climb. During the same period, we took equity interests in seven startup companies, bringing the total in the portfolio to 68, which together have raised over £3bn of investment to date.
This season also included Cancer Research Horizons raising its profile socially and politically. The inaugural Cancer Research Horizons Innovation & Entrepreneurship Awards was held this year. This black-tie event succeeded in highlighting some of the rising stars of the UK biopharmaceutical industry, with the constant hum of conversations and exchanges between burgeoning and seasoned entrepreneurs rivalling the compelling award announcements and speeches. Similarly, when the UK government proposed cutting R&D tax credits for innovative companies to combat tax fraud, Cancer Research Horizons worked closely with Cancer Research UK’s policy team to highlight the impact this would have on our ability to grow companies and translate breakthrough ideas that deliver benefits for cancer patients. In the meantime, our CancerTools.org business established a new way to engage with academic partners in a unique collaboration with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and we have continued to fund the gap between discovery research and industrial development via our Therapeutic Catalyst and Data Innovation Awards to build a healthy portfolio of propositions for the future.
Looking to the horizon, our teams and networks remain poised to translate innovations, both great and small, and act as a trusted partner for industry, investors and academia. We look forward to working with you in the future.
“We aim to double our patient benefit impact within five years.”
Hamish Ryder
Chief Executive Officer, Therapeutic Innovation
Cancer Research Horizons
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Hamish Ryder
Chief Executive Officer,
Therapeutic Innovation
Cancer Research Horizons
The past year has been one of bedding-in and full integration of the Therapeutic Innovation team, following our formal launch in April 2022. A key goal for our first year of operation was to define a five-year strategic plan, centred on the Cancer Research Horizons mission and our ambition to double the number of potential breakthrough therapies originating in Therapeutic Innovation that advance to clinical trials.
In March 2023, the Cancer Research Horizons Board approved the plan which is founded on three pillars:
- Accessing world class science to drive portfolio build
- Enhancing selected capabilities in early drug discovery to accelerate a larger, more novel portfolio
- Partnership to underpin all aspects of operation, but particularly later stage drug discovery to ensure we can move a significant portfolio forward at pace
Portfolio generation has been a key focus for the new organisation, with engagement and collaboration with the Cancer Research UK-funded science network, including Cancer Grand Challenges, as a top priority. We have also increased our academic reach through establishing five-year agreements with the Oncode Institute (Netherlands), the Karolinska Institute (Sweden) and the Experimental Drug Discovery Centre (A-STAR Singapore), which have begun very positively.
Two of our in-house initiatives are demonstrating great value in eliciting novel ideas and approaches. The Functional Genomics Centre goes from strength to strength, developing ever more sophisticated capabilities in pooled CRISPR screening, and applying them in target identification strategies, and our Therapeutic Catalyst response-mode funding scheme has now evaluated over 50 proposals and funded nine exciting and novel projects.
Our commercial partnership portfolio landscape is also shifting, with the completion of the terms of our alliance with Bristol Myers Squibb on mRNA translation. Several new partnership discussions are advancing, and we anticipate announcing several in the coming year.
In terms of the portfolio of drugs in development that we have contributed to we were pleased to see several clinical advances over the course of the year, including the achievement of FDA Orphan Drug status and an MHRA Innovation Passport for roginolisib (iOnctura) in metastatic uveal melanoma, the initiation of a Phase 1b trial in pancreatic cancer with our autotaxin inhibitor (IOA-289, iOnctura), and the initiation of Phase 2 of the Polθ inhibitor ART4215 in combination with a PARP inhibitor in BRCA deficient breast cancer (Artios).
The progress of these clinical programmes serves to maintain our desire and drive to translate the best science towards better outcomes for patients, and continued sourcing and progression of novel approaches will remain our focus in the coming year.
