The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is ending its support for a 26-year-old push to advance clinical trials for children with brain tumors.
Founded in 1999, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC) brings together 15 academic centers and children’s hospitals in the U.S. and Canada to run phase 1 and 2 trials. The consortium has led studies of new therapies, treatment delivery technologies and radiation treatment strategies and worked with the Children’s Oncology Group to move programs into larger trials.
That work is now coming to an end, at least at the PBTC. In an update first reported by Endpoints News, the NCI said the PBTC will not be able to apply for another five-year award to continue its funding beyond March 2026. A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson confirmed and explained the decision to Fierce Biotech.
“Over time the fields of pediatric drug development and brain tumor research have evolved considerably,” the HHS spokesperson said via email. “After reviewing this changing landscape, NCI has concluded that its resources can be used most effectively by expanding support for the Children’s Oncology Group Pediatric Early Phase Clinical Trials Network (PEP-CTN).”
The PEP-CTN is a network of 42 hospitals, including 21 core sites in the U.S. that participate in all the group’s clinical trials. The other 21 hospitals are noncore sites in the U.S., Canada and Australia that take part in some studies. The PEP-CTN works on targeted therapies for children with all forms of cancer.
The spokesperson said the “NCI will collaborate with PBTC and PEP-CTN to complete ongoing PBTC trials and ensure a smooth transition,” adding that they “do not anticipate any funding gap for pediatric brain tumor research.” The update about the changes said the NCI is committed to finishing trials “wherever feasible and appropriate,” either by supporting the PBTC or by moving studies to the PEP-CTN.
The PBTC’s website lists five open clinical trial protocols, including studies supported by the biotech and medtech companies MimiVax, Novocure and Senhwa Biosciences. The website lists 45 closed protocols.
Keith Desserich, President of the PBTC Foundation, told Fierce Biotech that the research organization is “disappointed that the NCI is discontinuing funding for PBTC.” He explains that: “With over 16 member sites, 42 completed therapeutic studies and over 2,200 patients helped, we would have hoped that the record of results would have been substantial enough to continue the progress.”
Desserich said the foundation “remain[s] hopeful” that those enrolled in clinical studies “will be able to continue to receive treatment through other consortiums, but at this point we are aware of no decisions regarding the status of these trials.”
The changes come amid uncertainty about National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. President Donald Trump has proposed cutting $18 billion from the NIH’s budget for the 2026 financial year, though a senate subcommittee has resisted the plan, instead suggesting a $400 million increase.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 11 a.m. ET to include a statement from the PBTC Foundation.