In cancer clinical trials, federal and industry sponsors play complementary roles
A comparative study of the cancer clinical trial portfolios supported by federal funding versus industry funding reveals they have distinct, interdependent roles in cancer research.The work, "Federal and Industry Sponsorship in US Cancer Clinical Trials," was published in JAMA Oncology.
Two distinct types of cancer clinical trials—those supported by federal agencies and those driven by the pharmaceutical and biotech industry—play complementary but distinct roles in advancing cancer research, a new study finds. Published in JAMA Oncology, the analysis of 11,681 U.S. trials from 2008 to 2024 reveals that industry-funded trials are more likely to focus on single-agent treatments and very early or later-stage development, while federally sponsored trials tend to explore multimodality regimens, non-treatment interventions, diagnostics, health services research, prevention, screening, and supportive care.
The federally supported trials were also more likely to study rare or pediatric cancers. The authors argue that this division of labor is essential, but there is concern that commercially unattractive research questions may be overlooked due to the current dominance of industry-sponsored trials.
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