C-Further Launches First Pediatric Cancer Programs with $40M Budget, Partners with MiNK Therapeutics
核心洞察
C-Further (搜索), an international pediatric oncology consortium, unveiled its first two therapeutic programs targeting childhood cancers including Ewing sarcoma (搜索), bone sarcoma (搜索), medulloblastoma (搜索), and acute myeloid leukemia (搜索) with $40 million in initial funding.
CF-012 (搜索) represents a potential first-in-class ETV6 (搜索) inhibitor for Ewing sarcoma (搜索) developed in collaboration with UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center (搜索), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Mass General Brigham (搜索).
CF-033 (搜索) is an allogeneic PRAME (搜索)-targeted iNKT cell therapy developed with MiNK Therapeutics that requires no HLA matching or toxic lymphodepletion, designed for multiple pediatric cancers.
C-Further (搜索), an international consortium dedicated to developing childhood cancer therapeutics, has announced its first two therapeutic programs with an initial $40 million budget, marking a significant milestone in pediatric oncology drug development. The consortium, enabled by Cancer Research Horizons, LifeArc, and Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, has partnered with leading academic institutions and MiNK Therapeutics to advance novel treatments for multiple childhood cancers.
Novel ETV6 Inhibitor Targets Ewing Sarcoma
The first program, CF-012 (搜索), represents a potential first-in-class inhibitor targeting ETV6 (搜索), a newly identified transcriptional dependency essential for tumor growth and metastasis. Developed in collaboration with investigators at UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center (搜索), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Mass General Brigham (搜索), CF-012 aims to address the urgent unmet need in relapsed and metastatic Ewing sarcoma (搜索).
"Children and young people have historically lacked effective, targeted cancer treatments and CF-012 (搜索) has the potential to address an urgent unmet need in relapsed and metastatic Ewing sarcoma (搜索) – a rare, aggressive bone tumour that most commonly occurs in young people," said John Bushweller, PhD, Professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and investigator for CF-012.
Key investigators for the CF-012 (搜索) program include Kimberly Stegmaier, MD, Chair of the Department of Pediatric Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Miguel Rivera, MD, Assistant Molecular Pathologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Allogeneic iNKT Cell Therapy Advances Multiple Indications
The second program, CF-033 (搜索), leverages MiNK Therapeutics' proprietary platform to develop a PRAME (搜索)-targeted invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell therapy. This allogeneic, off-the-shelf approach targets PRAME (Preferentially Expressed Antigen in Melanoma), a tumor-associated antigen highly expressed across multiple pediatric malignancies including bone sarcoma (搜索), medulloblastoma (搜索), and acute myeloid leukemia (搜索).
"CF-033 (搜索) is a PRAME (搜索)-targeted invariant NKT (iNKT) cell therapy developed to address the urgent needs of children with high-risk cancers, which are often marked by treatment resistance and a weakened immune response that cannot sustain tumour control," explained Marco Purbhoo, PhD, Head of Translational Medicine at MiNK Therapeutics.
The therapy is designed to function without HLA matching or toxic lymphodepletion, potentially enabling faster treatment delivery and improved tolerability for pediatric patients. CF-033 (搜索) harnesses the unique biology of iNKT cells to both directly kill cancer cells and coordinate broader, longer-lasting anti-tumor responses.
Strategic Partnership Structure
Under the collaboration agreement, MiNK Therapeutics will receive approximately $1.1 million in non-dilutive funding to support IND-enabling development, with payments tied to completion of defined scientific milestones. The agreement also includes a meaningful double-digit share of downstream commercial revenues while preserving MiNK's ability to pursue other partnerships and indications.
"Being selected as one of the first programs supported by C-Further (搜索) underscores both the maturity of MiNK's iNKT platform and its potential to address areas of profound unmet need such as pediatric cancers," said Jennifer Buell, President and Chief Executive Officer of MiNK Therapeutics.
The University of Southampton, led by Dr. Ali Roghanian and Dr. Salah Mansour, will conduct independent preclinical studies to evaluate anti-tumor activity, persistence, and safety across multiple pediatric cancer models, including patient-derived tumor systems.
Addressing Critical Unmet Medical Needs
The programs reflect C-Further (搜索)'s mission to move beyond repurposing adult therapies that can cause lasting harm to developing bodies. Instead, the consortium focuses on creating tailored, well-tolerated treatments specifically designed for children and young people with cancer.
"By combining the pioneering approaches of our scientific collaborators with industry-standard drug discovery capabilities, expertise of our core partners and reach into critical paediatric-focused networks, C-Further (搜索) is advancing a pipeline of potential first-in-class therapies for childhood cancers," said Lone Friis, PhD, C-Further Programme Co-lead.
Both CF-012 (搜索) and CF-033 (搜索) will be supported through preclinical candidate nomination, subject to completion of scientific milestones. C-Further (搜索) has also commenced preliminary research on a third, undisclosed project, with additional programs expected to be announced in 2026. The consortium welcomes expressions of interest from researchers and partners, with the next submission deadline set for March 13, 2026.