Highlights
On October 6, NCI recognized 11 clinical investigators with a first of its kind award to acknowledge and fund those who lead cancer research programs at academic cancer centers. The awards are the result of the implementation of one of the recommendations of NCI’s Clinical Trials Working Group (CTWG), which was established to advise the institute on methods to improve and enhance the publicly funded clinical trials enterprise.
The proposed START (Standard Terms of Agreement for Research Trials) clauses are designed to help cut the time spent on contract negotiations between pharmaceutical/biotech companies and academic medical centers.
The purpose of the program is to establish a comprehensive database containing regularly updated information on all NCI funded interventional clinical trials. Grantees will be requested to enter specific information about each clinical trial into the database. NCI will use this information to coordinate research efforts to optimize our nation's investment in cancer research.
The 22 Clinical Trials Working Group (CTWG) initiatives can be broadly categorized as addressing coordination, scientific prioritization, standardization, operational efficiency, and enterprise-wide concerns.
A central element of NCI’s efforts to restructure the clinical trials enterprise is the organization of Scientific Steering Committees composed of outside cancer experts and NCI senior investigators.
