Oncode Accelerator funds preclinical development of cancer therapies
Through its Demonstrator Projects, the Dutch Oncode Accelerator consortium provides grants for preclinical cancer therapy development. The first call for these projects is open until September 2025.
Discovering, developing and bringing new drugs to market is a lengthy, high-risk and expensive process. And new therapies are often only effective for some of the intended patients. The Dutch Oncode Accelerator consortium aims to address this problem by putting the patient first and innovating the preclinical phase of drug development. It is doing so through three innovation platforms: well-defined patient cohorts, artificially grown miniature organs and AI-based predictive models.
Big ambitions
Oncode Accelerator has big ambitions, which are reflected in the consortium’s size: thirty public and private partners, including university hospitals and national cancer research centres. Leiden University and the Leiden University Medical Center are coordinating partners. The consortium has a budget of 662 million until 2030, 325 million of which is from the National Growth Fund (and 164 million of which is conditional).
Demonstrator projects
The majority of this funding will be invested in Demonstrator Projects. These serve two goals: to develop potential therapies in the preclinical phase and to prove that the Oncode Accelerator infrastructure really does work. The targeted projects fall into four ‘workstreams’: small molecules, biologics, cell and gene therapy, and therapeutic vaccines.
The Demonstrator Projects are a fantastic opportunity for Leiden researchers from different disciplines, says Professor of Molecular Physiology Mario van der Stelt. ‘If an academic group has discovered a promising protein as a potential drug target or identified a potential anti-cancer agent, a Demonstrator Project will allow you to work with Oncode Accelerator partners to develop this discovery into a candidate drug.’ Gerard van Westen, Professor of Artificial Intelligence & Medicinal Chemistry, adds: ‘The demonstrators are an opportunity to apply the latest developments in Artificial Intelligence to the development of promising new anti-cancer drugs. An example of this is software developed using the AlpfaFold algorithm, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry this year.’
Interested parties can now apply for a Demonstrator Project. For more information, see the Oncode Accelerator website.