Commentary: For science to progress, collaboration is essential

In the past two months, two non-scientists have launched monumental initiatives that may impact cancer research for the foreseeable future.

First, in February, was Vice President Biden's $1 billion "moonshot" mission to cure cancer. More recently, on April 13, tech entrepreneur Sean Parker announced a $250 million gift to start his namesake cancer immunotherapy institute, which includes the University of Pennsylvania as one of the participating institutions.

Thanks to the extraordinary support from both of these efforts and the national awareness they've raised, biomedical research is ideally poised to fulfill its promise to push groundbreaking discoveries into lifesaving cancer therapies for patients in record time. But one of the key drivers of our success, even beyond the funding and resources, is a simple concept that both men highlighted in their announcements, and yet one that has been less than ideal in life-sciences research: collaboration.

Biden's and Parker's announcements bring with them firm reminders that we as scientists need to do more, and we cannot and should not do it alone. We need to tear down the barriers, dismantle the silos, put aside market considerations, and stop worrying about who owns what.

We need to park our egos outside and come to the table, academia and industry, as dedicated partners, working together closely and sharing data for the greater good. It is what patients and their families want us to do - and need us to do.

Collaboration is the unifying thread of our science: It is what defines us and how we want to be known to our peers and in our community. In fact, the underlying goal of research is to share, collaborate, and challenge one another so that we can tangibly advance knowledge and discovery.

Researchers have long accepted the idea that none of us is smart enough to solve complex biological questions alone. The beauty of scientific discovery is that it doesn't really belong to anybody - not even the original discoverers.

By their very nature, scientific advances are meant to be shared, publicized, and disseminated across disciplines and institutions. They are meant to be a catalyst for everyone to join in, as this is the only way to make real progress.

It is this open-minded spirit of teamwork and inclusiveness, in which patients and science always come first, that will bring initiatives such as the moonshot to life and fulfill its bold but timely goals.

Make no mistake: The opportunities opened by molecular treatments, precision cancer medicine, and immunotherapy are extraordinary. But the challenges to convert these advances into broadly effective, safe, and affordable medicines are not trivial and require a new way of thinking.

Academic institutions and drug companies are prime actors on this stage and must be able to find broad common ground, establish shared goals, and develop a new level of committed partnership. This is the only currency that will catalyze scientific innovation, phase out incremental gains in favor of truly transformative advances, and bring to the clinic rigorously grounded and non-redundant drug pipelines.

Scientists, physicians, our whole community of health-care professionals, and the pharmaceutical industry have been given a mandate from the highest authority in America, as well as one of the most influential philanthropists in health care, to change the face of cancer treatment and outcomes. But to truly work as partners, with everyone on the same page, we must all share more.

Dario C. Altieri, M.D., is president and CEO of the Wistar Institute and director of its National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center. communications@Wistar.org