For three decades, adults have benefited from a revolution in oncology treatment, as immunotherapies and targeted drugs have joined or replaced older, blunter tools like chemotherapy and radiation. Children have been less fortunate.
Their tumors are far rarer than adult cancers and attract little interest from industry. Pediatric cancer researchers hoping to advance care have had to rely largely on repurposing newer drugs developed for adults — a limited strategy, as pediatric malignancies often have unique biology that require unique drugs.
On Thursday, though, two U.K. charities announced they would invest £28 million — $36 million — to create an international consortium capable of designing new drugs specifically for childhood tumors.
