Accelerated Platform 2
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Accelerated development of novel and personalised treatments using new and repurposed theraputic agents and individualed treatment selection and monitoring - Accelerated 2
IRAS ID
161945
Contact name
Sean Jennings
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The main purpose of the project is two-fold, firstly to rapidly increase the available treatment options for head and neck and thyroid treatments using a coordinated platform to test new agents and to re-purpose existing pre-licenced therapeutic agents. Secondly, by developing personalised treatment selections.
A cost effective method of introducing new cancer treatments for a given condition is drug re-purposing where an existing therapeutic agent that is already licenced for use in humans for one condition is redeveloped for treating another. This is the approach that will be taken in the accelerated 2 study.
Re-purposing can immediately reduce the requirements for testing, as drugs will have already been through a series of rigorous assessments to identify toxicity, tolerance and side effects, and in doing so bring down the overall development costs. If off patent (and therefore generically available) agents are re-purposed, costs can be reduced further whilst generating candidate agents much quicker than using traditional drug development processes.
In the first phase of the project most of the work will be carried out in the lab to identify the drugs that could potentially be used in the later phases for treatment in head and neck cancer or thyroid cancer patients.
This application is seeking approval to use blood samples, fresh biological samples for example biopsy samples, saliva and urine from non cancer patients going for biopsy, newly diagnosed head and neck cancer or thyroid cancer patients and recurrent head and neck cancer or thyroid cancer patients. We would also like to take healthy donor blood samples to use as controls.
The cells form the tissue will be used to grow cell lines that can be used in different experiments in the lab and within animal models.REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NW/0265
Date of REC Opinion
15 Apr 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion