Accelerating Cancer Discoveries

By Frank Stonebanks

from bench to bedside through partnerships

Dr. John Dick (photo courtesy of OICR) Dr. John Dick, a world-renowned stem cell and cancer stem cell researcher, continues to move the field forward by working towards therapies that enhance the usefulness of stem cell transplantation and therapies that target cancer stem cells. As leader of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) Cancer Stem Cells Program, Dr. Dick is building on Ontario’s tradition of excellence in stem cell research established by Drs. James Till and Ernest McCulloch’s discovery of stem cells in 1960.

Bone marrow transplants to treat leukemia represent one of the first uses of the stem cell’s ability to differentiate into different cell types. Recently Dr. Dick’s team isolated single hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in their purest form for the first time. Isolating HSCs is a major advancement since they are capable of regenerating the entire blood system. If this were harnessed in the clinic, HSCs could be used to improve the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

Dr. Dick’s efforts to identify the next generation of potential therapies that target the cancer stem cells in leukemia have been bolstered by one of OICR’s many partnerships. Together, in 2009, the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium (CSCC), of which OICR is a member, and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) established a partnership to support a Disease Team proposal developed by Dr. Dick’s group and researchers at the University of California, San Diego, led by Dr. Dennis Carson, that is focused on identifying novel drugs to treat leukemia. The CSCC supported the Disease Team using funds from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and Genome Canada. Dr. Dick’s recently published research showing that leukemia stem cells are relevant in a clinical setting and influence response to therapy and reoccurrence of acute myeloid leukemia provides a strong underpinning for their approach. He believes that targeting and killing these leukemic stem cells would potentially have an impact on patient survival.

Another project funded by the CSCCCIRM partnership is seeking solutions for solid tumour cancers. Dr. Tak Mak,

an acclaimed immunologist and member of OICR’s Scientific Advisory Board, and Dr. Dennis Slamon of the University of California, L.A., are using a pipeline approach to identify and develop drugs that will target cancer-initiating cells in these cancers.

The CSCC-CIRM partnership has served as a catalyst in identifying new therapies for leukemia and solid tumours. Collaborations such as this are at the heart of OICR’s work to successfully translate research findings into solutions for patients. OICR has used its strong commercialization infrastructure to establish partnerships with industry leaders such as GE Healthcare and Pfizer as well as other biotechnology firms and academic research organizations.

Partnering with OICR opens the door to its world-class researchers that study areas with the highest potential impact on patients: small molecules, biologics, stem cells, imaging, genomics, informatics and bio-computing, pathology, high impact clinical trials and health outcomes. A formula for success is established when these research strengths are coupled with the OICR commercialization team’s strong business acumen, collective experience and specialized knowledge in entrepreneurship, intellectual property, fostering technologies and spinning out companies. OICR is headquartered in downtown Toronto’s Discovery District and holds an Ontario-wide mandate. Support from the Government of Ontario and from OICR’s partners totals more than $160 million annually. This funding is used to support more than 1,500 researchers, clinician scientists, research staff and trainees across Ontario.

Frank Stonebanks is Chief Commercial Officer, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research

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