Wednesday, September 21, 2022 From the Director’s Desk September still feels like the beginning of a new year to me. After the always too short summer of fun, relaxation, heat and humidity, the air turns crisper, and the school year begins. With the return to school, I always looked forward to that feeling of a new start with new things to learn, making new friends and catching up with old friends. I feel that same excitement for the Group this year, very keenly. There is so much to be excited about…We are bursting with opportunities, plans and activities. In August we held the New Investigators Clinical Trials Course where 50 new Canadian investigators participated in stellar plenary, workshops, and mentoring sessions. This meeting was a huge success thanks to leadership from faculty member Dr. Wendy Parulekar, supported by the CCTG meetings team (Anne, Nancy, and Yasmin). It was great to see everyone back in person! Funding opportunities continue to be prioritized. In response to the Federal Government $50M Budget Commitment for Clinical trials announced last year, CIHR launched 3 major Clinical Trial Fund calls for application which CCTG responded to as lead or co-lead. The funding may lead to great changes in clinical trial environment in Canada and we will be a part it. Results will be known at the end of September. The CCS and CFI grants were renewed with increased funding. These successful applications validate that our work is of the highest quality, supports an exciting scientific agenda and our ability to execute an ambitious vision. We are in the first year of our Strategic Plan: Solving Cancer Together and this fall a number of retreats are planned both internally and with the network to gather feedback that will form our operating plan for the next 5 years. Kudos to everyone for the RECORD number of proposals submitted to NCI/CTEP - eight to date: HN11, AL6, NE1, CO30, ME16, CO32, PR24 and HN13 (so far three have been approved). Since January trials have been activated: HD11, MAC27, MYC2, CLC3, CLC3E, PAC4, MEC6 and BLC5 is at Health Canada. A very exciting time in IND with extensive development for new Master Protocols in Breast and Rare Cancers. The teams have conducted multiple trial analyses: I227 and BR31 interims with another round to go LY17 (R-DECEP closure, locked July 8th), Two PM1 cohort (interim) analyses (Jan 7th interim #2, Apr 7 Interim #1-update) Anticipated analyses for BR36 final (imminent) and HE1 final (Fall) It’s been a good summer for CCTG, and we have an exciting Fall “New Year” ahead for the Group!
