OUR MISSION
At the National Cancer Center,2020Years9From the month, the governmentAMEDWith the support of the Asian Cancer Clinical Trials Network Project (Asia Clinical Trials Network for Cancers Project: ATLAS project) " has started.
The mission of the ATLAS project is to build a multinational cancer clinical trial network led by Japan as a foundation for the regular implementation of international collaborative trials in the Asian region. The National Cancer Center has conducted international collaborative trials in Asia, mainly in advanced countries and regions such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong (China), and Singapore. The project aims to further strengthen this network and to expand to Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and other countries.ASEANWe are expanding our network to other countries, and are working to build a system that allows us to quickly conduct international joint trials by selecting the most suitable participating countries within Asia depending on the type of cancer.
Asian countries have great potential as drug development areas in the future due to factors such as the large number of cancer patients, reasonable clinical trial costs, and an increase in medical institutions with high-quality clinical trial implementation infrastructure. In order to maximize this potential, we have established the National Cancer Center Asia Office in Bangkok, Thailand, which is located geographically in the center of East Asia and Southeast Asia, and will work to maintain close communication in order to further strengthen our network.
The ATLAS project is a center for research, education, and3First, we will develop bases from Asian countries.9We will select three locations and aim to improve our clinical trial implementation infrastructure by purchasing equipment and hiring personnel.
In addition, these facilities will participate in multiple international collaborative trials in parallel. We will develop multifaceted international collaborative trials that contribute to the development of early cancer treatments, such as investigator-initiated clinical trials aimed at obtaining pharmaceutical approval for drugs in participating countries, trials aimed at commercializing program medical devices, and translational research that involves collecting tumor tissue and blood and conducting genome analysis.
In addition, we will provide educational opportunities for researchers at these facilities regarding clinical trials, thereby raising the level of their soft skills.e-learningIt is a siteICR webWe will provide English content on genomic medicine and clinical trials in Japan, and will also provide practical training opportunities at international joint trial seminars held in various countries.
Until now, cancer treatment development has tended to be led by Europe and the United States.ATLASBy developing a permanent clinical trial network in Asia as a project, we hope to increase Asia's presence as a third pole alongside the United States and Europe and produce many exciting results.
ATLAS project mission
In September 2020, the National Cancer Center launched the Asia Clinical Trials Network for Cancers Project (ATLAS project) with support from the government and AMED.
The mission of the ATLAS project is to formulate a multinational cancer clinical trial network, a solid structure for conducting international collaborative trials on a permanent basis in the Asian region.
The National Cancer Center has been conducting international trials in Asia, mainly with partners in Korea, Taiwan, China, and Singapore.
The ATLAS project is strengthening the existing network and expanding it to several Asian countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia, to further develop cancer treatments. The new framework for conducting international joint trials has allowed the swift commencement of research with the most suitable participating countries depending on the type of cancer among Asian countries.
Asian countries have extremely high potential as drug development areas in the future due to factors such as a large number of cancer patients, reasonable clinical trial costs, and an increase in the number of medical institutions equipped with high-quality clinical trial implementation infrastructure. To capitalize on this potential, we have established the Asian Partnerships Office in Bangkok, Thailand, located at the center of East and Southeast Asia. This office plays a key role in strengthening our network, with closer communication with our Asian partners.
The ATLAS project consists of three components: Institute development, international clinical research, and education. Nine partner sites from Asia have been selected, in which clinical trial facilities are being reinforced with purchased equipment, and hiring of specialist staff.
Several international collaborative trials are ongoing concurrently, in which partner institutes are participating. An investigator-initiated trial aimed at obtaining regulatory approval in participating countries, a clinical trial for spreading a new software as a medical device, translational studies collecting tumor tissue and blood samples for genomic analysis; multi-faced research is being conducted, including early drug development research for cancer.
Researchers at ATLAS-related facilities are being trained in clinical trials, to build specialist institutes. Our collection of English language content on genomic medicine and clinical trials on “ICRweb,” an e-learning site hosted by the National Cancer Center has been expanded. In addition, the National Cancer Center has hosted several international study seminars and on-site capacity-building programs, inviting young investigators from Asian countries.
Cancer therapy development has been primarily led by the West. The ATLAS project aims to develop and firmly establish a clinical trial network in the Asian region, we are increasing Asia's presence as a third-tier region alongside the United States and Europe to produce even more results.
