Accelerator Impact Report 2023
In 2023, the Dana-Farber Accelerator awarded grants to six research teams developing innovative, early-stage diagnostic and therapeutic technologies. Read more about these projects in the Accelerator Impact Report which also highlights the project team members involved, and speaks to the broader mission of the Accelerator program at Dana-Farber.
Start-up Company Licensing Dana-Farber IP Begins Clinical Testing of Early Cancer Detection Platform
Harbinger Health, a company that has licensed a multi-cancer, plasma-based early detection technology from the laboratory of Franziska Michor, PhD, Charles A Dana Chair of Human Cancer Genetics and professor of Computational Biology in the Department of Data Science at Dana-Farber, has begun enrolling patients at high risk for cancer due to a family history of pancreatic cancer.
Dana-Farber’s Brian Wolpin, MD, MPH, director of the Hale Family Center, will lead the study together with Hale Family Center investigators, Matthew Yurgelun, MD, and Michael Rosenthal, MD, PhD. Read more about the foundational technology and the clinical study here.
Encouraging Preclinical Data on Allosteric EGFR Inhibitor to Overcome Resistance
After nearly 15 years of research in developing new strategies to overcome resistance to EGFR inhibitors, the Dana-Farber team of Michael Eck, MD, PhD, professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Dana-Farber and Harvard Medical School, David Scott, PhD, director, Medicinal Chemistry Core, and Pasi Jänne, MD, PhD, director of the Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology, presented preclinical data at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics on EAI-432, an allosteric EGFR inhibitor targeting mutant-EGFR driven non-small cell lung cancer. The drug candidate represents a potential strategy for improving patient outcomes. Read the press release here.
Dana-Farber Accelerator Therapeutics RFP
Following a successful diagnostics RFP in Spring 2023, the Dana-Farber Accelerator is thrilled to launch its next RFP dedicated to the advancement of cancer therapeutics.
Details about when and how to submit your project application will be coming early in the new year. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to the Innovations Office with any questions about the RFP process.
Contact the team for more information.
Dana-Farber/Novartis Funding Opportunity
Independent investigators at Dana-Farber are invited to submit grant summaries through the Dana-Farber/Novartis Drug Discovery and Translational Research Program (DDTRP) under the auspices of a longstanding collaborative research agreement dating back to 1992, for the upcoming grant cycle starting July 1st, 2024, through June 30th, 2027. Grant summary submissions for the upcoming 3-year cycle are due by January 16, 2024. A standard award is $250K/year, but larger budgets are possible for collaborative proposals.
Specific scientific topics of interest, along with other details of this funding opportunity, are detailed in the Program RFA that is available upon request to the Program Administrator. Please contact Jodi Hecht for contract-related inquiries and Henry Long for science-related questions. Read more about the history of the DDTRP from the previous grant cycle.
Emerging Companies Invited to Inaugural JP Morgan Life Sciences Innovation Summit
Dana-Farber researchers with companies based in the life sciences are invited to apply to the inaugural J.P. Morgan Asset Management: Life Sciences Innovation Summit at the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi on May 14 – 15th, 2024. The inaugural event seeks to attract top caliber, early-stage entrepreneurs in several fields, including cancer, to pitch their ideas to a panel of industry-renowned judges and potentially receive funding.
Applications from registered companies will be accepted through January 22, 2024. Visit the event website to learn more.