The SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital will be the first member of the Beat Childhood Cancer Consortium based outside of North America

The Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona (PCCB) at the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital has become the first facility not based in North America to join the Beat Childhood Cancer (BCC) Research Consortium, specialising in the development of clinical trials on pediatric cancer.

This alliance will allow the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital to act as a European sponsor for Consortium studies, facilitating collaboration with companies working on new treatments. According to Dr Jaume Mora, Scientific Director of the PCCB, ‘this partnership will allow our patients access to more innovative treatments being promoted in the United States’.

The first trial that will be submitted to the European CTIS portal for assessment will be BCC018, concerning use of a new drug in children with high-risk neuroblastoma. This step is a huge milestone, allowing European patients access to cutting-edge treatments developed by the Consortium. The track record of the Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona reinforces its position as a reference center in pediatric oncology, with more than 400 new patients being treated each year, and integrating healthcare and research in one facility.

With this expansion, the BCC—which, until now consisted of over 40 hospitals from only the United States and Canada—further consolidates its commitment to global collaboration and can accelerate the development of international studies. Dr Giselle Saulnier Sholler highlights that ‘the experience and leadership of Dr Mora in the field of Pediatric Oncology help us to further reinforce our research efforts on a global scale, as well as our shared mission of improving results for children everywhere’.