Cancer causes enormous burden, and people suffering from rare cancers face additional challenges. Diagnoses take longer, and treatment options are limited. As a result, the outlook for patients with rare cancers is often worse. Rare cancers also include all forms of childhood cancer.

In 2025, the promising research program REACT-NL (Rare Cancer Therapies-NL) will commence, funded by this government subsidy. The funding is specifically intended for public-private collaborations, enabling researchers and companies to combine their expertise and accelerate the translation of research outcomes to patient care.

Advancing to Clinical Application

For many rare cancers, there is no clearly defined pathway for market access and commercialization. This collaborative PPS-program presents a unique opportunity to establish such a pathway with the right partners. Over the coming year, multiple public-private partnerships are expected to be launched, focusing on advancing research into clinical applications.

As part of REACT-NL, a thematic call will be issued to accelerate innovation for rare cancers. The program promotes multidisciplinary research and the application of technologies such as AI, cell and gene therapy, radionuclides, and imaging techniques.

Carla van Gils – Director, KWF

"Rare tumors and childhood cancers together form a significant subgroup within all types of cancer, but improvements in prognosis lag behind on other cancer types. Achieving breakthroughs for rare tumors requires collaboration. I am proud that KWF can play a connecting role in this, together with our partners."

Jakolien van Eijk – Director, KiKa

"Every year, nearly 600 children in the Netherlands are diagnosed with cancer. Fortunately, 81% of these children are still alive five years after diagnosis. But this also means that every three days, a child in the Netherlands dies from cancer. That is heartbreaking. Thanks to this new collaboration with KWF and Oncode Institute, researchers and companies can work more closely together, enabling them to discover and develop new ways to detect and treat childhood cancer more quickly. I believe this will truly bring us closer to 100% cure rates. I am incredibly grateful and proud that we can make a difference together for these children and their families."

Chris de Jonghe – Valorisation Director, Oncode Institute

"We are very pleased that Oncode Institute can contribute with our valorization expertise to setting up public-private collaborations in the field of rare cancers with our partners KWF and KiKa. Only by joining forces can we achieve breakthroughs where the need is greatest, enabling early diagnosis and targeted treatment of rare cancers, and offering hope to patients and their families facing these challenges."

37 Million Euros for Innovation through Public-Private Research

The collaborative project is co-funded by a PPP subsidy awarded by Health~Holland, Top Sector Life Sciences & Health, to REACT-NL to stimulate public-private partnerships. In 2025, fifteen promising research programs for public-private collaboration will commence. These programs will support innovative projects where researchers and companies combine their expertise to accelerate the translation of promising research results into targeted applications for patients and society. As one of the funded programs, REACT-NL will provide a significant boost to improving outcomes for cancer patients.

Read more about REACT-NL and other PPP programs:
https://www.health-holland.com/news/2025/01/innovatie-samenwerking-hoe-pps-programmas-de-life-sciences-health-sector-transformeren