Leaders from industry and academia gathered on March 24 for the 2026 Accelerating Cancer Cures Research Symposium, hosted by Amgen in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The event brought together Damon Runyon scientists and partners from major pharmaceutical companies to discuss progress in cancer research.
The symposium is part of the Accelerating Cancer Cures initiative, a collaborative project led by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation since 2011. The goal is to support clinical investigators as they work to translate scientific discoveries into new diagnostics and therapies for patients.
Damon Runyon President and CEO Yung S. Lie, Board member Richard B. Gaynor of BioNTech, and James Bradner of Amgen welcomed attendees at the start of the event. Dr. Bradner said, "We've started to think of Damon Runyon as the triple-A team for Amgen. The scientists supported by this organization are the best of us - the most brave, the most committed, the most scholarly, the most impassioned." Opening remarks were also given by Oliver Thiel of Amgen.
Presentations followed from Damon Runyon scientists Mark Yarmarkovich, Lucas Farnung, Mary M. Mullen, and Ziyang Zhang on their research into cancer genomics and gene expression aimed at developing targeted therapies. In a keynote address, Anna Farago and Julie Bailis from Amgen discussed efforts to advance new therapeutics. Dr. Bailis said about bridging laboratory science with clinical research: "It's really the connection between the pre-clinical data predicting how a therapeutic will perform and what information comes back from the clinic that will help us advance new treatments." Additional presentations covered therapeutic avenues for hard-to-treat cancers such as pancreatic cancer.
A fireside chat moderated by Catherine Sabatos-Peyton featured industry leaders discussing pathways toward breakthrough therapies in oncology development. Dr. Jennifer Lauchte emphasized collaboration: "If you're meeting with just one person, you're not meeting with the right people... you should have that multi-disciplinary team with you sharing... so you're headed in the right direction."
Dr. Lie closed out proceedings alongside Margaret Faul of Amgen Massachusetts who reflected on collaboration between sectors: "We all benefit when academic researchers and their counterparts in industry are in conversation with one another," says Dr. Faul about Accelerating Cancer Cures.
