In the News: The challenges of pediatric clinical trials

“Pediatric cancer is rare, when you compare it to other forms of cancer, especially adult solid tumors. Often pharma companies are not wanting to fund trials that are exclusively to support a pediatric cancer indication. This is a question that I get asked a lot: How to deal with the so-called ‘valley of death’? … You can successfully complete a phase 1/phase 2 trial, show a safety and efficacy signal, but then lack the funds to get FDA approval. Several of us in the field are looking at other strategies to fill this gap, like forming consortiums and using institutional support.”

Catherine Bollard, M.D., M.B.Ch.B, director of the Center for Cancer and Immunology Research, joined Nature to talk about clinical trials for children, including the significant challenges she and her colleagues face to ensure potentially successful treatments have the funding to make it through the approval process. Learn more about her thoughts on the current landscape for pediatric clinical trials and her work on CAR-T cell therapies in her webinar.