Oncode Institute at a glance
Who We Are

Oncode Institute supports the development of groundbreaking cancer research toward applications for patients. The institute brings together researchers, clinicians, companies, investors, and patient representatives to develop new insights into diagnostics, treatments, and clinical applications.

Within Oncode Institute, 62 Oncode Investigators and their research groups collaborate on fundamental and translational cancer research. The research groups are affiliated with thirteen Dutch partner institutes and collectively represent more than 750 researchers.

Research at Oncode Institute focuses on fundamental questions regarding the origin, development, and treatment of cancer. At the same time, the institute actively supports researchers in further developing promising insights toward practical application. The emphasis is on long-term collaboration, knowledge exchange, and strengthening the connection between research and practice.

Oncode Institute is made possible by public and private partners, including the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF Kankerbestrijding), the Ministries of Economic Affairs, Education, Culture and Science, and Health, Welfare and Sport (via ZonMw), Health~Holland, patient organizations, companies, and investors.

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Organisatization

At Oncode Institute, research is conducted at partner institutions. A small, dedicated team supports researchers and programs. Governance is ensured through the executive board, the supervisory board, and the involvement of advisory committees and patient representatives.

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Vision & Mission

Oncode Institute: Outsmarting Cancer, Impacting Lives
Oncode Institute is working toward a future in which cancer is more treatable and patients achieve and maintain a higher quality of life. Our mission is to accelerate scientific breakthroughs and translate them into applications for patients.

Our approach creates impact in three areas:

  • Health: faster access to better diagnostics and treatments.
  • Knowledge: new insights into how cancer works.
  • Economy: stimulating innovation, economic activity, and investment
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How We Work

Oncode Institute operates based on an integrated approach: fundamental research, collaboration, and commercialization are interconnected. The goal is not only to advance promising insights scientifically but also to better prepare them for clinical application and societal use.

Basic research
Basic research underpins Oncode Institute’s approach. Through flexible core funding, research groups are given the freedom to develop new lines of inquiry, explore high-risk ideas, and work on complex scientific questions over the long term. This research yields new insights into tumor development, DNA damage repair, immunotherapy, and treatment resistance.

Valorization

Oncode Institute supports researchers in further developing innovations toward application. In 2025, this was achieved through IP guidance, TechDev projects, Clinical Proof-of-Concept (CPoC) projects, support for spin-out formation, and the Oncology Bridge Fund. These programs advanced innovations toward validation, clinical trials, follow-up funding, and collaboration with public and private partners.

What is valorization?

Valorization is the process of translating research results into concrete social and economic value, so that innovations reach patients.

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Clinical Proof of Concept (CPoC)
One of the tools offered by Oncode Institute, accelerating the translation of promising research breakthroughs into better patient care. The CPoC program supports researchers in testing innovative ideas in early-stage clinical trials. This is a crucial step in determining whether a discovery impacts patients. With targeted funding, expert guidance, and active patient involvement, CPoC helps bring innovations to the clinic faster and more effectively.

Henk Verheul
Chair of the Clinical Advisory Board, on the value of the CPoC program:

“The CPoC program is crucial for connecting basic research with clinical innovation. It helps researchers consider the clinical relevance, feasibility, and implementation of their research at an early stage, so that promising discoveries can find their way to patients faster and more effectively”

Clinical research requires different questions

The Clinical Proof-of-Concept (CPOC) programme helps scientists test promising discoveries in cancer research earlier in patients, with a clearer understanding of medical need. Henk Verheul, Chair of the Clinical Advisory Board of Oncode Institute, explains the role of the CPOC programme.

What happens when a promising discovery finally leaves the lab? That is the question behind Oncode Institute’s Clinical Proof-of-Concept (CPOC) programme. The programme helps researchers take the step towards patients at an earlier stage by supporting early clinical scientific research.

That step can be challenging. A discovery may work well in the lab, or in animal models, but clinical research requires different criteria. Can the principle be tested safely in patients? Which patient group may be eligible for the treatment? Is the study feasible in practice?

Prof. Dr. Henk Verheul works with these questions every day. As a medical oncologist and Chair of the Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, he works closely with patients and researchers. He also chairs Oncode Institute’s Clinical Advisory Board, which advises on clinical strategy, study design and the route from research idea to patient-based research.

“You can work from the clinic back to the lab, or the other way around,” says Verheul. “That connection shapes my daily work.” One of his biggest challenges in cancer research is understanding earlier which ideas have clinical potential, and how they can reach patients responsibly. This is where CPOC plays an important role.

What changes when research enters the clinic?
CPOC supports early clinical research. In simple terms, it helps researchers determine whether a laboratory discovery also has potential in patients. The programme provides funding, expertise on clinical and valorisation questions, and support in designing a clinical study. CPOC helps researchers define the clinical questions, identify the right patient groups and address the practical considerations needed to start a scientific study.

This way of working can change how researchers look at their own work, says Verheul. “Many of them think years of additional preclinical work are needed before an invention can be tested in patients,” he says. “But sometimes you can start in the clinic earlier than expected.” That does not reduce the importance of careful preparation, but it does mean determining earlier whether an idea is clinically relevant, feasible and ready for a first test in patients.

“The real challenge is implementation,” says Verheul. “You need a clinical protocol, clinicians willing to participate, and patients who can take part in the study.” For many fundamental researchers, that is unfamiliar territory. CPOC helps make those first clinical steps more accessible.

“Het CPOC programme is crucial in connecting fundamental research with clinical innovation"

Designing studies that work in practice
The Clinical Advisory Board, CAB, brings clinical experience into this process. CAB members assess whether a study can answer the question it sets out to address. They look at feasibility, patient numbers, clinical relevance and the proposed study design. Verheul says, “We assess very carefully whether the setup is clear and whether the primary goal of the study can actually be answered.”

This advice can also lead to new collaborations. If a study requires more patients than are available in one centre, the CAB can help accelerate collaboration between university medical centres, the Netherlands Cancer Institute and other clinical partners. For Verheul, this connection between researchers and clinicians is one of the strongest parts of Oncode Institute’s approach. It encourages researchers to think earlier about medical need and what is required for clinical development.

CPOC helps researchers gain earlier clinical insight. Sometimes that leads to promising results. In other cases, it helps researchers adjust their approach before spending years developing an invention. One example is the RASTRIC trial, a study into a treatment combination. This study generated important clinical insights and helped researchers better understand the limitations of this treatment combination in practice. “We now know that it is not easy to manage toxicity, so we need to adjust our strategy,” says Verheul. “That helps us understand better what is needed for the next step.”

Another study supported by CPOC is led by Oncode Investigator Jacco van Rheenen. His research focuses on the effect of the menstrual cycle on chemotherapy response. If this finding is confirmed in patients, it may help improve the timing of treatment for breast cancer and other cancer types. Verheul says, “You can study this effect in mice and in a preclinical setting, but the challenge is proving it in patients.”

What changes when patients are involved?
Verheul believes patients should be involved earlier in the process. In his view, researchers gain a different perspective when they have direct contact with the people who benefit from their work.

Patients are increasingly interested in what happens in the lab. They want to meet researchers and understand how discoveries move towards the clinic. “Patients are often enthusiastic,” says Verheul. “Researchers can learn a great deal from them. This contact increases awareness of medical need.”

Verheul hopes clinicians will spend more time in research laboratories. Seeing how difficult it can be to develop and test new ideas may lead to closer collaboration between researchers and doctors. “As a physician, I stood in the lab with my feet in the mud,” he says with a laugh. “That experience stays with you.”

Why does clinical progress take time?
Clinical development takes time, so Verheul does not promise quick results. Developing a new medicine can take 15 to 20 years. For diagnostics or monitoring tools, that process may be faster. Even then, thorough testing remains essential.

That also means expectations need to be managed, says Verheul. “If you could look ten years ahead, I think discoveries from Oncode Institute will have improved clinical outcomes for patients. But we need more time to know that for sure.”

For Verheul, the strength of CPOC lies in helping researchers take the step to the clinic earlier, learn faster and stay closer to medical need. Programmes like CPOC are essential, he says, because they bring researchers and clinicians together from the start.

CPOC in 2025

  • 22 projects in the programme
  • 3 new studies awarded
  • 8 participating institutes
  • 15 Oncode Investigators involved in projects
  • 46 clinicians involved in studies

Studies highlighted in 2025

  • New studies awarded, Zwart, Litjens and De Laat
  • Research by Jacco van Rheenen on the menstrual cycle and chemotherapy response started
  • RASTRIC trial, led by Hugo Snippert and Hans Bos, completed and continued within Oncode Accelerator

Collaboration
Oncode Institute encourages collaboration across disciplinary and institutional boundaries. Our researchers gain access to a broad network of scientists and are supported through conferences and workshops to share their knowledge and insights. They are also encouraged to collaborate closely with physicians and companies. Through this multidisciplinary collaboration, new discoveries can be translated more quickly into potential clinical applications. As a result, patients can benefit from new treatments sooner.

Value Chain

From Investment to Impact
At Oncode Institute, we translate knowledge into tangible progress for cancer patients. Our value chain illustrates how we leverage funding and talent through a powerful strategy to achieve groundbreaking results and make a social impact.

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