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C-Further announces major partnership with GOSH Charity to drive innovation in childhood cancer treatment

via Business Wire

GOSH Charity joins Cancer Research Horizons and LifeArc as a core partner of C-Further

With a £10m ($13.5m) commitment from GOSH Charity to support the expansion and diversification of C-Further’s portfolio, the consortium’s total funding reaches £37m ($50m)

Expands C-Further’s capacity to address the distinct biological and financial challenges of childhood cancer drug development

Initial research projects selected for the C-Further pipeline to be revealed in the coming months

C-Further today announced that Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity), the UK’s largest dedicated charitable funder of child health research, has joined Cancer Research Horizons and LifeArc as a core partner to help drive innovation in children’s and young people’s cancer treatment. C-Further is an international consortium of drug discovery and development researchers, clinicians, partners and impact investors with a shared commitment to create new cancer therapeutics for children and young people.

As a core partner, GOSH Charity will contribute to the consortium’s strategy and operations, while committing up to £10m ($13.5m) over the next four years to support the expansion and diversification of C-Further’s portfolio – bringing total funding to £37m ($50m). This partnership represents the largest research funding commitment made by GOSH Charity to date, and it will enable the adoption of early-stage therapeutic discovery projects into C-Further’s expanding pipeline, more streamlined pipeline progress and expanded operational capacity for the consortium.

“GOSH Charity is thrilled to join C-Further as a core partner, and we look forward to working closely with Cancer Research Horizons and LifeArc to identify new therapeutic project opportunities with the greatest impact for children and young people facing cancer. I’m confident that together, we can help to ensure promising treatments reach clinical trials and ultimately become available to children with the hardest to treat cancers. Alongside this exciting partnership and our ongoing appeal to build a new world-leading Children’s Cancer Centre at GOSH, we want to do everything we can to give children the best chance, and best childhood possible,” said Aoife Regan, Director of Impact and Charitable Programmes at GOSH Charity.

With close ties to Great Ormond Street Hospital and the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, GOSH Charity brings to C-Further leading expertise, networks, influence and deep connections to patient groups and families – building upon strong foundations aiming to become one of the fastest-growing child-first drug discovery pipelines.

“At C-Further, we aim to tackle major barriers preventing a step-change in outcomes for children and young people with cancer: the lack of drugs specifically designed for these cancers and the unique set of challenges this presents. With GOSH Charity’s renowned expertise, global network and deep ties to patients, C-Further is better positioned to collaborate with the community on systemic challenges and strengthen the innovation ecosystem for better outcomes for children and young people with cancer,” said David Jenkinson, Head of Childhood Cancer at LifeArc.

The initial collaborative research projects selected for C-Further’s therapeutic pipeline will be revealed in the coming months.

“From its underlying biology to the long-term effects of treatment on growing bodies, children’s and young people’s cancer presents a unique set of challenges that require tailored approaches to research and drug development. Welcoming GOSH Charity as a C-Further core partner is a powerful step forward in our mission to ensure more children and young people live longer, better lives – free from the fear of cancer,” said Tony Hickson, Chief Business Officer at Cancer Research Horizons.

The consortium invites like-minded organisations, researchers and funders within the childhood cancer community to visit the C-Further website and learn how to join this collaborative effort to make a difference for children and young people with cancer.

About C-Further

C-Further is an international consortium of drug discovery and development researchers, clinicians, partners and impact investors with a shared commitment to creating new therapeutics for childhood cancers.

We envision a world where childhood cancers are treated effectively, with tailored, and well-tolerated treatments. Together we’re combining expertise from around the world to create an innovation ecosystem that allows us to challenge conventional approaches to developing therapies and accelerate promising ideas towards better outcomes for children living with cancer.

If you share this vision and believe you can contribute, we invite you to connect with us and be part of the change: info@c-further.org.

Visit www.c-further.org for more information.

About Cancer Research Horizons

Cancer Research Horizons is the innovation engine of Cancer Research UK – the world's largest charitable funder of cancer research. The organisation takes cutting-edge innovations from the lab bench to the bedside, translating them into effective treatments and diagnostics for cancer patients.

To date, Cancer Research Horizons has played an instrumental role in forming over 90 spin-out companies. The organisation has helped bring 14 cancer drugs to market, born out of Cancer Research UK's pioneering research. Through these drugs, Cancer Research Horizons has enabled in excess of 6 million courses of treatment for cancer patients across the world.

With access to Cancer Research UK's network of 4,000 exceptional researchers and its £400+ million annual research spend, Cancer Research Horizons is a powerful partner in the fight to conquer cancer.

About LifeArc

LifeArc is a not-for-profit medical research organisation that turns promising scientific research into impact for people living with rare diseases and Global Health infections.

We form partnerships and provide scientific expertise and funding to help break down the barriers preventing scientific breakthroughs from becoming life-transforming treatments and cures. We have been doing this for more than 30 years and our work has resulted in five licensed medicines, including cancer drug pembrolizumab and lecanemab for Alzheimer’s disease.

Our goal is a world where no one with a rare disease or a global infectious disease misses out on life-changing innovation because of complexity, cost or risk.

LifeArc is a company limited by guarantee (registered in England and Wales under no. 2698321) and a charity (registered in England and Wales under no. 1015243 and in Scotland under no. SC037861).

About GOSH Charity

Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity) stops at nothing to help give seriously ill children childhoods that are fuller, funner and longer. For the hundreds of children from all over the UK who are treated by Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) every day, for children with rare or complex illnesses everywhere, for this generation and all those to come.

GOSH has been transforming the lives of seriously ill children since opening its doors in 1852 and has always depended on charitable support. GOSH Charity funds groundbreaking research into children’s health, cutting-edge medical equipment, child-centred medical facilities and the support services children and families going through the toughest journey of their lives urgently need. But there is so much more we need to do.

The new Children’s Cancer Centre at GOSH is under construction, supported by a £300 million fundraising appeal from GOSH Charity. The centre will provide state-of-the-art facilities and create an environment where cutting-edge research can thrive.

To support the ambitions of the new centre, GOSH Charity recently launched our first paediatric cancer research strategy. This sees £15 million from our wider £70 million five-year research strategy dedicated to transforming the outcomes and experiences of children with the rarest and hardest to treat cancers.

We are here to give more children the best chance, and the best childhoods, possible. Because we believe no childhood should be lost to serious illness.

Join us, visit www.gosh.org today.

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