@article{a1f1e7f97b784e679499c9dca97dc658,
title = "Cancer immunotherapy: Breaking the barriers to harvest the crop",
abstract = "Successful translation of modern molecular immunology into effective cancer immunotherapy is threatened by regulatory barriers and challenges to the development of novel agents and combinatorial strategies through effective public-private partnerships. For its promise to be fully realized, both the National Cancer Institute and Food and Drug Administration must take active steps to help academic investigators and companies jointly navigate the pathways from laboratory to clinic.",
author = "Drew Pardoll and James Allison",
note = "Funding Information: What factors slow RAID down? Firstly, the review groups that score RAID applications vary for each round of review. Most reviewers are academics who do not have direct experience in development of the biologic agents being reviewed. This results in inconsistent prioritization of projects. Secondly, despite its tremendous expertise, the BRB is woefully understaffed to complete all of these projects in a timely fashion. Third, the BRB facilities are hopelessly antiquated, preventing the BRB staff from applying modern production technologies to efficiently execute the RAID projects. The annual budget for RAID biologics was initially roughly $11 million per year, until it was increased to $18 million per year three years ago, and it has not increased since. This budget (which trails the total NIH budget, doubled over the same period) is totally inadequate to efficiently handle the ever-expanding project load. Indeed, given the budget and facilities that the BRB has to work with, its output of completed projects is quite impressive. Nevertheless, the relentless influx of roughly ten new projects per year overwhelms the system, resulting in portfolio constipation. In contrast to the corporate world, prematurely ending projects that have entered the RAID pipeline is extremely difficult, even when it becomes clear that there are either technical or scientific deficiencies that no longer warrant manufacturing the product. This is because even though RAID is formally a contract mechanism, funding decisions are still typically subject to the NIH grant culture, in which initial study section evaluations are rarely superceded.",
year = "2004",
month = sep,
doi = "10.1038/nm0904-887",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "10",
pages = "887--892",
journal = "Nature Medicine",
issn = "1078-8956",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
number = "9",
}