Creating commercial value from scientific discoveries does not come naturally to all scientists, but it does for Arnoud Huisman and Bastiaan Bijl. Arnoud, Chief Executive Officer, and Bastiaan, Business Developer, both have a long track record of bringing laboratory discoveries to the real world. At Oncode Accelerator they feel ‘at home’.

Arnoud quickly adds that the addition ‘commercial’ to ‘value’ is not the full story. ‘Creating value is not only about money. Societal value, to leave something behind for generations to come, that’s the sort of value I’ve come to appreciate more over the past years in my work. To me, this also means translating fundamental research into better care for patients. Younger generations, my children, they already feel this much more deeply than I do. This is very inspiring and humbling to me, and it drives me to make Oncode Accelerator a success.’

Bastiaan echoes these sentiments. He has also come from a life sciences background, but with brief explorations in a corporate environment as a consultant. Setting up Sales at Cergentis, and business development at Single Cell Discoveries, both spin-out companies from the Hubrecht Institute, convinced him that his true passion is in life sciences. That makes Oncode Accelerator a natural next step for him. ‘I love to make connections. Between a challenge and a solution, but also between people. Not only the obvious ones, but the ones that do not immediately come to mind.’

Oncode Accelerator is the perfect sandbox environment for this, since it is very much pioneering, Bastiaan says. ‘In the six months since I’ve started working here, I’ve come to see that there’s a clear challenge in translating fundamental research to clinical candidates. I genuinely believe that we as a program, with our unique approach to improve preclinical therapy development, can make a difference.’

Both Bastiaan and Arnoud firmly acknowledge the statement ‘we cannot do this alone’. Not as a cliché, but very literally, since especially Arnoud has seen the drug development process from all angles during his career and knows today’s drug development is by definition a multi-stakeholder process. He draws a parallel with music. ‘The journey to innovation is not a solo endeavor. It's a symphony of collaborative efforts, where each player brings their unique talent to the orchestra. Oncode Accelerator is our stage, and together, we're composing a new era of drug development.’

The collaborative nature of the project, something also emphasized by other key players of the program, is reflected in the fact that Oncode Accelerator currently has over 30 partners, both from top academic institutes and innovative industry parties. Arnoud: ‘And we need all of them. Every single one brings expertise and assets to the table. It's the convergence of diverse perspectives that fuels breakthroughs. At Oncode Accelerator, we bring together the brightest minds to solve the most complex challenges.’

The means to do this is through so-called Demonstrator Projects. These are the core of the Oncode Accelerator Program, with the aim to both validate our innovative approach as well as to bring promising leads to the next stage in preclinical drug development. The maximum endpoint of a Demonstrator Project is a first-in-human study of a limited number of patients. After that, it’s up to others to further develop the therapy. The goal is to have five clinical candidates in 2032, when the program ends. ‘These Demonstrator Projects are more than just proof of concept,’ says Bastiaan. ‘They are the tangible outcomes of our collective efforts, showcasing the real-world impact of our research.’

What makes Oncode Accelerator unique? Why can’t a Contract Research Organization (CRO) do the same thing? Arnoud has a clear answer to this. ‘A CRO provides a service with a clearly defined outcome. Data is generated based on existing validated models and methods. That gives you predictability and consistency, but you also know that you will never be surprised by an outcome. Our models are not yet validated, we don’t know yet how all our expertise, assets, infrastructure, and talent fit together in the best conceivable way. What we do know, is that our approach is innovative and bold. We are a research organization, meaning we will possibly surprise you in a good way, whether it is through new insights or through accelerated development.’ After a brief pause, he adds with a smile: ‘We can even stay with our musical metaphor. A CRO has created a song already. We are still composing. We know the instruments we want to use, and we’ve written an intro piece, but that’s it. It’s exciting!’

Bastiaan points out that not only the approach is unique, but also the access to a vast and unmatched pool of scientific talent and resources. ‘For example, through Oncode Accelerator we provide access to well-defined patient cohorts with massive databases containing patient information. Combining this with innovative organoid technology and artificial intelligence, we think we can create new, tailored organoids based on specific tumor types or even specific patients. This results in better preclinical trials and better predictability of treatment efficacy.’

Dependent on a mid-term evaluation on Oncode Accelerator’s progress, which will take place in early 2025, the program will run until 2032, after which the innovative approach and infrastructure will hopefully be validated. What happens after that time? Will it transform itself in a sort of CRO after all? Arnoud remembers an initiative in Germany, where he worked for several years as strategy officer in a life sciences CRO, which ended because its fate was strongly connected through the enthusiasm and commitment of a few people. ‘It is our mission to create an ecosystem, a hybrid scientific-industry community that leverages the knowledge from the people. In my view, in the near future Oncode Accelerator will establish itself as an Academic Research Organization, always connecting academic excellence and innovative power with the pragmatism and scale of its industry partners.’

This view aligns well with the goals of the National Growth Fund, which states that NGF projects ultimately must contribute to the Dutch economy. ‘We’re not there yet’, Bastiaan acknowledges. ‘In this phase, we are still building and validating our infrastructure and looking for partners to bring their interesting leads or compounds into the program.’ Through Oncode Accelerator, these interested parties will be eligible for up to 50% matching funding for the costs of their Demonstrator Project through the NGF. Bastiaan: ‘Although this is still a unique selling point of our Demonstrator Projects, in my many conversations with potential partners it seems they are more interested in us providing access to cutting-edge science, than to funding.’

This is a very promising sign for the economic value of Oncode Accelerator as an academic research organization, as Arnoud suggested before. ‘It also highlights its greatest challenge. ‘Matching funding’ implies that our Demonstrator partners will still have to contribute at least 50% of the costs, due to EU state-support regulations. However, we believe securing funding is not only a challenge, but also a call to action. It pushes us to think creatively, to build compelling cases for our work, and to forge partnerships that can turn our visions into reality.’

This vision is shared between the two of them. They speak of the future with optimism and enthusiasm. ‘We're not just developing treatments; we're shaping the future of healthcare. Our work at the Oncode Accelerator is laying the groundwork for a new paradigm in patient care.’