C-Further Unveils First Therapeutic Programmes Dedicated to Paediatric Oncology

C-Further, an international consortium committed to creating new therapeutics for childhood cancers unveils the first early-stage therapeutic programmes for its pipeline, dedicated to paediatric oncology indications. Through its collaborative model, C-Further has partnered with investigators at UVA Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Mass General Brigham to advance CF-012 for the potential treatment of Ewing sarcoma. In parallel, the consortium has partnered with investigators at MiNK Therapeutics (Nasdaq: INKT) to advance CF-033, leveraging MiNK’s proprietary platform with translational support by investigators at the University of Southampton, for the potential treatment of multiple children’s cancers, including bone sarcoma, medulloblastoma and acute myeloid leukaemia.

Enabled by C-Further's core partners, Cancer Research Horizons, LifeArc and Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity), the consortium will support the progression of CF-012 and CF-033 up to preclinical candidate nomination, subject to completion of scientific milestones. Together, these projects form the foundation of C-Further’s expanding pipeline, which is supported by an initial $40m (£30m) budget.

Lone Friis, PhD, C-Further Programme Co-lead said: “By combining the pioneering approaches of our scientific collaborators with industry-standard drug discovery capabilities, expertise of our core partners and reach into critical paediatric-focused networks, C-Further is advancing a pipeline of potential first-in-class therapies for childhood cancers. Guided by an indication-agnostic but child-first approach, we believe the initial CF-012 and CF-033 programmes have the potential to address a profound unmet need across multiple children’s cancers.”