NEWS RELEASE

Released: November 14, 2012

CDMRP Announces International Cancer Funding Report

International Cancer Research Partnership (ICRP) announces the launch of its first international Portfolio Analysis Data Report - mapping trends in cancer research.

The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), U.S. Department of Defense, announced today the launch of the International Cancer Research Partnership's (ICRP) inaugural data report (https://www.icrpartnership.org/Publications.cfm). ICRP is an alliance of cancer research organizations working together to enhance global collaboration and strategic coordination of research efforts. CDMRP was one of the founding members of the ICRP in 1998 along with the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health.

The ICRP Data Report is the first, co-operative international analysis of the cancer research landscape, based on data from over 50 current member organizations about their individual projects and programs, each classified by type of cancer and type of research.

ICRP's member organizations' funding allocations resulted in over 20,000 active awards in each of calendar years 2005 to 2008. Annual investment in cancer research ranged between $4.6 and $4.8 billion (USD) over this period. The report highlights trends in funding for specific cancer types and illustrates how awards are distributed across the research spectrum: biology, etiology, prevention, early diagnosis, detection and prognosis, treatment, cancer control and survivorship.

This report is the result of a major collaborative effort among cancer organizations to implement an international cancer research classification system (the CSO or Common Scientific Outline) and to set up an international database containing over 54,000 awards. The report allows organizations to track the impact of their strategic investments in the international context and sets a benchmark for future analyses. Partners contributing data have access to the full international dataset and also enjoy access to analytical tools, collaborative forum areas for information exchange in addition to joint evaluation resources and analyses.

As a Partner, CDMRP is delighted to have contributed to this important effort to understand the landscape of cancer research funding internationally. According to Colonel (USA, Retired) Dr. Melissa Forsythe, CDMRP Liaison to and Chair Emeritus of the ICRP "We are thrilled to see this inaugural ICRP Data Report, which reflects the enormous strides the ICRP members are making to coordinate cancer research funding world-wide. This report is remarkable in that it represents what can be accomplished when organizations work together for the greater good. The ICRP is working diligently to achieve its goal of "One Vision, One Voice", and to ultimately see a world without cancer."

ICRP expects to release periodic updates to this report, which will include data from additional partners in the Netherlands, Australia and Japan. The ICRP is actively seeking additional cancer funding organizations from around the world to join the Partnership and to contribute their portfolio information to future data reports.

About the International Cancer Research Partnership
The International Cancer Research Partnership was formed in 2000 and is an active network of senior representatives from organizations united in a collaborative effort to promote coordinated progress in cancer research. Currently, the ICRP consists of cancer research funding organizations within the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan who have agreed to apply a common language-the Common Scientific Outline (CSO)-for discussing, comparing, and presenting their cancer research portfolios. The CSO classification system provides the tools needed to lay the groundwork for collective portfolio analyses and coordinated strategic planning among the Partner organizations.

ICRP members represent some of the largest funders of cancer research in the world. Members share award funding data in a common format to allow comparisons across all organizations. Part of the dataset is made available to the public (https://www.icrpartnership.org/database.cfm) and contributing partners have full access in a password-protected site. Partners also enjoy access to analytical tools, collaborative forum areas for information exchange in addition to joint evaluation reports and analyses.

ICRP will hold its next annual meeting on April 22, 2013 in Paris, hosted by the French National Cancer Institute (INCa).

For more information, visit https://www.icrpartnership.org/Publications.cfm, email operations@icrpartnership.org or call Dr. Lynne Davies at +44 (0) 788 959 9948.