Open-source drug discovery to clinical proof of concept for neglected cancers
For cancers too rare or too poor to attract companies, run drug discovery in the open, the way neglected tropical diseases are tackled, and take candidates to first human trials with public money.
Paediatric cancers, rare adult cancers and cancers concentrated in low-income countries (Burkitt lymphoma, Kaposi sarcoma, oesophageal squamous cancer in East Africa) receive little industry investment. The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative delivered new treatments through open, partnered development. The proposal is an oncology equivalent: open target selection, shared compound libraries, contract chemistry and preclinical development, patent-free or non-exclusive licensing, and public or philanthropic funding through phase 2, with generic manufacturers engaged early.
- Rare and paediatric cancers without markets · Taken together rare cancers are a fifth of all cancers, but each one alone is too small for a company to invest in.
- Funding follows fashion, not burden · Money goes to the cancers and questions that are easy or popular, not the ones that kill most or where a dollar would do most.
- Secrecy and intellectual property block collaboration · Companies with complementary drugs rarely test them together, and data that could answer questions stays locked up.