The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) is partnering with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) to launch a new program with the goal of making more treatments available for children with cancer.
The Pediatric Preclinical In Vivo Testing program (PIVOT) will address the increased need of both testing and approval of pediatric cancer treatments. Currently, there are approximately 200 FDA-approved agents for the treatment of cancer, but fewer than 40 of those are approved for children. There are also few targeted therapies available for pediatric cancers, and pediatric oncology treatments can take a long time to reach patients (the median drug approval period for these agents is six years).
That’s where the PIVOT coordinating center can make a difference.
The program will connect pharmaceutical companies developing oncology therapies with seven testing centers around the world that have the capacity to test them in specialized pediatric cancer models.
“This program has the potential to make new treatments more available for pediatric oncology, which has not seen advancements at the same rate as adult cancers,” said JAX Professor Carol Bult, who co-coordinates the PIVOT initiative at JAX. “By making crucial connections between pharmaceuticals and testing centers, we are improving a process that could yield life changing results and provide hope to the many families who experience pediatric cancers.”
This coordinated effort developed over the past few months and was announced at the end of September, which held a special significance with it being National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.