The Australian government is funding ground breaking research that will revolutionise drug development for prostate and childhood cancer. The Australian Centre for Targeted Therapeutics (ACTT) will receive $15 million to develop next-generation medicines to treat these cancers.

150,000 Australians are diagnosed with cancer every year. Most of them will be treated with drugs developed over 25 years ago, many of which may have severe side-effects.

While research has uncovered many of the underlying drivers of cancer, about 80 per cent of all disease-causing proteins have been considered “undruggable”.

The ACTT will develop new “protein degrader” technology to create next-generation cancer medicines with greater efficacy and fewer side effects, as well as treatments for many illnesses that were previously thought to be untreatable.

The ACTT will kickstart a new biotech sector to put Australia at the forefront of this emerging technology. It is a collaboration between the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, the Children’s Cancer Institute and Monash University.

The funding is part of the Medical Research Future Fund’s Frontier Health and Medical Research Initiative, which is providing $700 million over ten years to keep Australia at the forefront of medical research globally.

Mark Butler, Minister for Health and Aged Care, said, "Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and neuroblastoma tragically claims the lives of more children under 5 than any other cancer. This technology promises cancer treatments that are more effective, with fewer side effects."