NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – NantHealth and Cancer MoonShot 2020 announced today that they have formed the Melanoma and Sarcoma Working Group to accelerate molecular-informed immunotherapy studies.
The working group is composed of physicians, researchers, and oncology professors from across the US who will collaborate on identifying and developing effective immunotherapies for melanoma and sarcoma. They will specifically develop clinical trial protocols by evaluating standards of care, molecular-informed patient selection, and novel combination therapies.
Members of the working group include Columbia University's Gary Schwartz and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's John Kirkwood.
"The establishment of the Melanoma and Sarcoma Working Group reinforces Cancer MoonShot 2020's commitment to accelerate the war on cancer," NantHealth Founder and Cancer MoonShot 2020 Leader Patrick Soon-Shiong said in a statement. "Through the collaborative effort of these academic and industry thought leaders, we will be able to provide patients with melanoma and sarcoma with next-generation immunotherapy treatment."
The establishment of the new working group follows the creation of similar groups focusing on pediatric cancer, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, and radiation and immuno-oncology. The Cancer MoonShot 2020 aims to enroll up to 20,000 cancer patients representing 20 different tumor types in randomized clinical trials for immunotherapy combinations by 2020.