The question is as valid as it is difficult to answer. It begins with the definition of ‘success’ in the context of this program. Is that a clinical candidate for a new and accessible cancer therapy for patients? An efficient, innovated and validated pipeline for (pre)clinical development of cancer therapies? Is it a sustainable financial contribution to the Dutch economy? Or do we define success by developing tools for treating patients faster and better with less side effects? 

The scale of the program justifies that we set the bar high. Our ambitions are to significantly contribute to all these goals – and more – over the next eight years. Our starting position holds immense potential. The Netherlands has world-leading cancer research institutions and scientists, a top-ranking healthcare ecosystem with detailed databases of patient data and materials, and a strong culture of collaboration.

That collaboration is forged into the core of Oncode Accelerator: our four workstreams – small molecules, cell and gene therapies, biologics, therapeutic vaccines – will be innovated by using methods, models and technologies of our innovative platforms – patient cohorts, organoids, artificial intelligence. Demonstration projects are applied to validate these innovations. In every step, public-private collaboration is key. We believe that innovation can flourish at the intersection of scientific disciplines and by using the expertise and facilities of both academia and industry. Ultimately, this contributes to the accelerated development of better cancer treatments.

However, within Oncode Accelerator, we look beyond technology. We start the development process with a specific patient group and their medical need in mind. In this biannual stakeholder magazine, available to everyone interested in our program, we give a voice to cancer patients, their advocates, and supporters. Next to articles about relevant scientific breakthroughs, we bring personal, sometimes poignant stories alternating with articles focusing on the vision and ambitions of our researchers.

This patient-centric approach, both in the program and the magazine, reminds us of the main goal of all our work: to improve the lives of people living with cancer.