Innovation in oncology drug development: A focus on patient benefits

Dr Brian Huber, Vice President of Therapeutic Areas, Drug Development and Consulting at ICON and Matthew Huber, a scientist in the emerging biotechnology sector focused on developing innovative oncology medicines, have conducted a review that highlights how innovation, from the development of targeted therapies to a revolution in clinical trial designs, puts an emphasis on patient centricity. Innovation in oncology clinical drug development is needed, not only to enable more effective and efficient development of new cancer therapies, but also to give patients – including those with rare forms of cancer – access to new therapies much sooner. Therapies developed back then were ‘cytotoxic’ drugs whose cell-destroying actions were largely based upon the observation that cancer cells divide more rapidly than most normal cells in the body.