Amgen joins with community oncology networks for new research collaboration

Amgen Community Oncology Research Collaborators (ACORC) Will Work to Expand Clinical Trial Access to Cancer Patients Treated Outside of Academic Centers

First Members Include US Oncology Research and TRIO-US With UCLA

Amgen, along with leading community oncology networks, today announced the launch of Amgen Community Oncology Research Collaborators (ACORC), a new initiative to enhance access by community centers to innovative oncology clinical research. Fewer than one in 20 adult cancer patients in the U.S. have participated in a clinical trial.1 The collaboration will allow Amgen to significantly expand its clinical research footprint to more than 200 patient care sites across the U.S. and help community centers reach more than 900,000 new patients each year with investigational medicines.

"About 80 percent of cancer patients across the U.S. are treated outside of an academic institute by a community oncologist, making it critical to expand clinical trials to include patients in the community setting,2" said Darryl Sleep, M.D., senior vice president of Global Medical and chief medical officer at Amgen. "Community oncologists are on the frontline and have significant insights that are instrumental in informing cancer research and clinical trials. By leveraging our collective expertise, Amgen hopes to expand our clinical research footprint to bring innovative trials to community centers as quickly as possible."

US Oncology Research and Translational Research In Oncology-US, Inc. (TRIO-US) and its joint work with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Clinical Research Unit have signed on as the first ACORC participants, with plans to include additional networks in 2019. This collaboration will provide community oncologists the opportunity to have their patients participate in clinical trials of investigational agents from Amgen's pipeline — including bispecific T cell engager (BiTE®) antibody constructs and novel small molecules. In addition, the collaboration will offer the opportunity to generate data through real-world evidence studies on currently available oncology products.

"US Oncology Research allows community-based oncologists to participate in clinical research studies at more than 155 locations across the country," said Michael Seiden, M.D., Ph.D., president, The US Oncology Network. "This collaboration will help include more patients in research designed to evaluate innovative investigational molecules. In turn, we look forward to sharing insights from these trials to help the development of new oncology medicines."

"We're excited to sign on as an ACORC participant to provide our physicians access to studies of new and potentially transformative investigational targets," said John Glaspy, M.D., M.P.H., TRIO director and member of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. "With roots in Southern California, we look forward to working with our neighbors at Amgen now and into the future as we look to provide the best options to people living with cancer."

This release was first published 28 May 2019 by Amgen.