CCE Phase 1 Platform Coordinator
Sofie Boutkan is a Clinical Alliance Manager for the NKI’s Early Drug Development Team, and coordinator of Cancer Core Europe’s Phase 1 platform.
She has a master’s degree in human Movement Sciences, and has been working at the NKI since 2015, and constantly involved in early clinical trials.
As the NKI’s alliance manager, Sofie is in charge of scouting, forming, and managing partnerships with external stakeholders (pharma companies, universities, networks, consortia, etc.).
For the CCE Phase 1 platform, her role also entails discovering new potential clients or interested organizations and developing relationships, combined with a big coordinating part to make sure we move forward with the platform.
Q1: Could you provide an overview of the Phase 1 Platform and its main goals?
The platform, like other CCE projects or working groups, was formed to unite the skills and knowledge of all our centers on early clinical development, with the following major goals:
– to share our expertise and combined knowledge with pharmaceutical and small biotech businesses at an early stage, ensuring that the studies fit what is needed in the clinic.
– to provide more patients with access to innovative treatments or to increase the number of study alternatives available to our patients, allowing them to obtain the most recent drugs.
All seven centers have extensive experience with phase 1 studies (e.g., precision medicine, image-guided therapy, immunotherapy, repurposing, DDI) and have specialized infrastructures and units to support this (dedicated professional teams, pharmacy for drug formulation and distribution, PK/PD modeling, WGS, etc.). We have end-to-end expertise from basic to preclinical research, as well as translation into clinical trials, because we complement each other.
In addition, we provide consultation on asset development or protocol design, as well as the chance to secure studies from pharmaceutical companies within our experienced facilities.
Q2: In your opinion, what would be the potential impact of the Phase 1 platform on the field of cancer research and patient care within Europe?
Working with pharmaceutical companies at an early stage of clinical research allows us to ensure that studies are targeted to what is needed in practice or the clinical need.
With this platform, we can make it easier to conduct early clinical trials throughout Europe. It provides companies with access to seven large facilities in Europe, as well as a huge patient pool with a diverse range, allowing them to undertake studies on rare tumor types. Eventually, it allows more patients to participate in clinical trials and get access to novel medications.
Q3: What are the plans for the future of the project, and how do you envision its impact in the long term?
As the platform is just launched, the first goal is to have a successful phase 1 trial run through this platform. From there, we want to build this further. It would be great if a successful phase 1 study also resulted in the subsequent phases 2 and 3 studies running through CCE.
If you want to know more, I am open for any question so feel free to reach out!
s.boutkan@nki.nl
Thank you!
