our model
helping discoveries that can cure
obstacles
Too many promising discoveries stall for the wrong reasons.
Some fail to deliver on their promise, and that is for science to decide: too toxic, not effective enough, too difficult to produce.
Others could work but stall for avoidable reasons: missing funding, expertise that cannot be found, an unsuitable experimental model, no industrial partner.
That is where UP Against Cancer steps in. We help researchers bring together what they are missing: funding, expertise, experimental models, industrial partners. So that these discoveries make it all the way to patients.
global scourge
Cancer remains a global scourge
18 M+
Every year, more than 18 million people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer. Behind that figure lie millions of lives turned upside down.
1 IN 2
Medicine is advancing. Diagnoses are more accurate and treatments more effective. Yet nearly 1 in 2 people still do not survive their cancer. There is still much to discover.
AGING
We are living longer, which is a tremendous victory. But the older we get, the higher the risk of cancer. Research must therefore keep pace with our life expectancy.
That is why UP Against Cancer has chosen to focus on research into new or better cancer treatments.
development stages
The stages of developing a treatment
We step in between proof of concept and clinical Phase I, or even Phase II, depending on the project.
the stages
01
Patented discovery
Development
Fundamental research
Researchers have found a new target, a new molecule or a new mechanism and file a patent.
02
Proof of concept
Development
Applied research
Within an appropriate structure, the project leader demonstrates how the discovery works and describes the medical need it addresses.
03
Preclinical studies
Development
Regulatory, preclinical and pre-industrialization phase
Before moving to human trials, demonstrate that the candidate works as intended and is properly absorbed. Assess its toxicity. Validate its manufacturability and budget.
04
Clinical studies
Development
Clinical trials in humans: Phases I, II and III
Test tolerability, dosage and efficacy in humans. If successful, seek marketing authorisation and establish price and reimbursement.
05
Marketing authorization
Development
Phase IV
Once the treatment is approved, its safety and effectiveness continue to be monitored on a large scale under real-world conditions of use.
VALLEY OF DEATH
Crossing the “Valley of Death”
A laboratory discovery must successfully pass through a series of stages to reach patients and become a standard treatment.
Between proof of concept and the first clinical trials lies the Valley of Death: a stage where many promising discoveries stall for lack of funding, expertise or suitable partners.
UP Against Cancer acts as a facilitator to help researchers cross this valley between discovery and treatment.
We do not replace investors or industry: we open doors, reduce risk and provide the funding and entrepreneurial support needed to turn discoveries into solid therapeutic projects, all the way to clinical entry.
Once the risk is reduced, we hand over to partners able to continue development all the way to patients.
3 DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES
What sets us apart?
Our 100% model
All of your donations go directly and exclusively to scientific projects. That is our commitment.
To ensure maximum impact from your generosity, all of your donations are allocated to research projects that are rigorously selected and validated by our scientific experts.
All of our operating costs are covered by a separate endowment from our founder, Dr. Bernard Majoie. You know exactly where your generosity goes.
Entrepreneurial DNA
Our DNA is close to that of business leaders.
Our entrepreneurial spirit is clearly reflected in our vision, “empowering entrepreneurs to crush cancer,” and in a set of characteristics business leaders will immediately recognize:
- Strong ambition, aiming to deliver new therapeutic solutions
- (Calculated) risk-taking, committing our capital after a rigorous project selection
- A drive for impact, helping to save lives and create jobs
(200+ jobs created within our award winners’ teams)
The virtuous circle
Or when those who are helped become helpers
Aware of the opportunities he had been given to become an entrepreneur and open the doors to success, our founder, Bernard Majoie, was committed to “giving back.”
This philosophy remains one of the driving forces behind our work today. Every award winner who receives the Foundation’s support commits to helping future researchers if their initiative succeeds. Having been helped, they become a helper and contribute to the virtuous circle that defines the Foundation.
In this way, donations become lasting: they support not one but several successive projects.
our approach
Entrepreneurial philanthropy
We practice Venture Philanthropy, or entrepreneurial philanthropy
Philanthropy
Philanthropy, because we combine altruism, no personal enrichment and a multi-year commitment.
Entrepreneurial
Entrepreneurial, because our results-oriented support is precisely about equipping and advising project leaders on their entrepreneurial journey, limiting risk as much as possible and systematically measuring a project’s impact and potential.
SUCCESS
One of our successes
MABLINK Bioscience
A concrete example of the virtuous circle
When the Foundation supported the project nicknamed “the Cloak of Invisibility” and its PSARlink technology from the very beginning, it was still just a lab idea. This early boost enabled the project to be taken over by Eli Lilly for large-scale development. Today, following encouraging results, more than 100 patients with advanced ovarian cancer are benefiting from it in a Phase II-III clinical trial.
