MC21 Project: accelerating innovation in oncology
Making every effort to cure even more patients: this is the goal of the MC21 project, for Marie Curie 21st century. This project, which will guide Institut Curie until 2021, is directly inspired by the model invented by Marie Curie in 1909, aimed at bringing researchers and physicians together to find new treatments for cancer patients without delay. Learn about the leading projects of this ambitious program.
With recent therapeutic and diagnostic advances, it is now possible for the majority of patients to overcome cancer. But there is still much work to be done to cure even more patients. It will involve developing research and the ability to transfer these discoveries to patients in order to improve treatments, provide access to new therapeutic approaches and reduce side effects. It will also require initiatives to help patients recover an acceptable quality of life after treatment. Institut Curie is already addressing the challenges of its strategic project: MC21.
From its inception, Institut Curie’s strength has resided in its ability to bring the benefits of research to the patient’s bedside as quickly as possible. In the fight against cancer, Institut Curie and its 3,300 staff members prove their commitment daily alongside patients and in the research laboratories of its three facilities in the Ile-de-France region: Paris, Saint-Cloud and Orsay.
The MC21 project aims to further strengthen connections between researchers and clinicians. The heart of this project, created with the patients and all partners of Institut Curie, lies in this research-care continuum, a notion held dear by Marie Curie and Claudius Regaud, and which is still the best way to serve the fight against cancer and engage in innovation for the benefit of patients. The medical and scientific program aims to focus Institut Curie’s strengths in seven main areas of research:
- Breast cancer
- Uveal melanoma
- Pediatric cancer
- Sarcoma
- Early trials
- Radiation biology and innovation in radiotherapy
- Immunotherapy
- Genetics and epigenetics
This project is based on an ambitious property master plan, totaling nearly 150 million euros, which will allow us to renovate, rebuild or develop Institut Curie at each of its three locations. It will involve implementing unique structures to face new challenges in oncology, such as ambulatory medicine, opening 10 operating rooms designed on an integrated model - which will be a benchmark in France - creating the first Immunotherapy center for cancer in France, developing an experimental proton therapy line, dedicated to research activities, etc.
These projects will be conducted thanks to financing of €153m over 5 years, 60% of which is self-financed by The Curie Foundation. The remainder, €60m, will be acquired through a loan. A private foundation with public utility status since 1921, Institut Curie is authorized to receive donations and legacies, and enjoys the support of 180,000 donors.
