From Lab to Clinic: Effect of Academia–Industry Collaboration Characteristics on Oncology Phase 1 Trial Entry

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigated the success rate of Phase 1 clinical trial entry and the factors influencing it in oncology projects involving academia–industry collaboration during the discovery and preclinical stages. A total of 344 oncology projects in the discovery stage and 360 in the preclinical stage, initiated through collaborations with universities or hospitals between 2015 and 2019, were analyzed. The Phase 1 clinical trial entry success rates for oncology collaborative projects were 9.9% from the discovery stage and 24.2% from the preclinical stage. For discovery stage contracts, strong statistical significance was observed for contract type (co‐development OR 16.45, p = 0.008; licensing OR 42.43, p = 0.000) and technology (cell or gene therapy OR 3.82, p = 0.008). In contrast, for preclinical stage contracts, significant changes were noted for cancer type (blood cancer OR 2.24, p = 0.004), while the year of contract signing showed a relatively weak statistical significance (OR 1.24, p = 0.021). No significant changes were observed concerning partner firm size and the partnership territory. This study sheds light on how the characteristics of partnerships influence the success rates of early‐phase research, providing valuable insights for future strategic planning in oncology drug development.

Keywords

• academia‐industry collaboration
• clinical trial entry
• collaboration characteristics
• oncology
• probability of success