Metastatic breast cancer breakthrough highlights need for funding
By Amy Westervelt, KUNR
Iain Buxton has cured breast cancer — in mice. The doctor says his isn’t the only team to have made such strides, but a lot of promising research is getting stuck in labs due to a lack of research funding.
“Not enough grants are funded. Seven out of a hundred about — that’s Draconian. Because we’re not talking about 93 of those grants coming from schlock scientists. Every one of them comes from a highly qualified place and person. So we’re talking about the best of the best and we’re not supporting them. This is a major problem.”
Still, Buxton and his team, at the UNR Department of Pharmacology, believe they’ve cracked the code of metastasis.
The lab has patented its findings, and now it’s just a matter of – you guessed it – funding.
Federal funding for cancer research to the National Cancer Institute seems to have dropped to almost criminal lowes. The National Breast Cancer Coalition continues its annual push for Department of Defense funding for breast cancer research, which has funded incredible breakthrough breast cancer research.
Most Biotechnology/pharmaceutical research firms (such as Genentech, Bio-Marin, etc.) and University Medical/Cancer Centers (UCSF, UC-Davis, etc.) are making huge strides in cancer research partnerships. It is my understanding the UC-Davis Cancer Center has an oncology presence in Reno — that avenue should be explored by UNR’s Dept of Pharmacology for a possible partnership; however these partnerships do not need to be locally based. UNR will just need to ensure their research partnership contracts are negotiated by experts to portect their position in the partnership with industry.
Another funding avenue is the Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research grants. (I used to do grant reviews for Komen). Also, the CBCRP (California Breast Cancer Research Program) has grants available for novel breast cancer research projects). It is suggested that grant applicants include a breast cancer research advocate in their grant application, because these days – advocates have a seat at the research table, and many grant funders EXPECT an advocate to be part of the research project.
But yes, cancer research funding is still abominable.
Oh, and Buxton might contact the UCSF Breast Oncology Program to investigate making a presentation at one of their weekly (Wednesday morning) breast cancer research seminars at the Cancer Research Center in SF.
I typically chuckle at the many arm chair conspiracy theorists who often comment here. Now, maybe I am one of them.
Do the big Pharma companies really just want to ‘manage’ long term illness instead of cure it? Curing things may lose customers. Managing illness is incredibly lucrative. These companies answer to their shareholders and in no way are obligated by law to act with compassion and ethics. Shareholders want returns, first and foremost.
Something about our medical system is broken. Too much money, too much influence on the FDA and doctors. Gee, sounds like congress . Sounds like Super Pacs and the ridiculous Citizens United ruling.
This countries greatness is in real jeopardy by the overwhelming money of the few. We have a culture who idolize money and those with it. A culture of the unrefined.
Atomic, I think you answered your question pretty well. Besides, it’s not a conspiracy when Big Pharma is readily admitting to focusing R&D on daily meds only- not any new antibiotics, antifungals or anything else that you can take one time and be done.It’s about the money….
I heard the surgeon who wrote the book” The Business of Surgery” being interviewed on NPR and what I heard was beyond belief and enough to cause me not to get a surgery I probably really need. The hidden infection rates, alone, are criminal.
I’m meeting with Dr Buxton tomorrow to discuss his research and tour his lab. Irish, the idea of him partnering with an advocacy organization is a good one. In my conversations with him, he has expressed that there may be a bias towards big name institutions like MD Anderson in Komen’s awarding of grants. As a former Komen reviewer I look forward to hearing your perspective on this perceived bias.
To Atomic and Isee…. we all have BIG issues with big pharma…. but I think the questions was about funding Buxton’s research. We never want to shut down the research avenue. If one partners with pharma – they just need to get an expert to negotiate the research contract. Universities do not have the money to take their research forward, so they have to develop these partnerships and make sure they protect their own research. That is all I was trying to say here. :-)
There’s too much money treating metastatic cancer, of course they don’t want to fund cures. That’s true for all “diseases”. Follow the $$$$ and you find corruption.