Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute

What Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute does

Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute (cc-TDI) is a Beaverton/Hillsboro, Oregon-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit research institute founded in 2015 with a mission to make childhood cancer universally survivable. The institute runs a translational drug-discovery platform built around patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse models generated via the CuRe-FAST biobanking program (500+ samples, 19 PDX models, four 'first-in-world' disease models), complemented by quail egg screening assays, machine-learning drug-repurposing pipelines, and collaborations with Atomwise (AtomNet across 318 targets) and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (640,000+ compound screen). Its research portfolio spans rhabdomyosarcoma, clear cell sarcoma, osteosarcoma, DIPG, medulloblastoma, neuroblastoma, Ewing sarcoma, and other rare pediatric solid tumors, with Entinostat (HDAC3 inhibitor) currently advancing to Phase 2 clinical trials for alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma via the Children's Oncology Group.

The organization is funded almost entirely through philanthropy and competitive grants — individual donations processed via Stripe and PayPal, foundation grants (Megan's Mission, Sara's Cure, Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation, Lyla Nsouli), community fundraising events, and major scientific awards including up to $2.5M over 5 years from Cancer Grand Challenges Team KOODAC (a $25M international consortium). Its go-to-market is community-led: families of children with cancer establish named research projects, fund specific cancer types, and participate in the Citizen Scientist Project, embedding them directly in the research team through weekly meetings and educational 'nanocourses'. Pharmaceutical and biotech partners (Novartis, Nurix, Atomwise) and academic collaborators (CHOP, University of Würzburg, Curie Institute, MIT, Jackson Laboratory, IBM Research) participate as co-development and technology partners.

cc-TDI occupies a distinctive position in the pediatric oncology ecosystem: a small, multidisciplinary team of biologists and biomedical engineers operating an integrated bench-to-bedside pipeline from target identification through preclinical validation to national clinical trials. Since inception, it has pushed two drugs into three clinical trials — a notable translational throughput for an institute of fewer than 50 people — and is now expanding into protein degrader therapeutics via Team KOODAC, BigData drug-discovery initiatives for Clear Cell Sarcoma and Osteosarcoma, and global AI-driven screening collaborations.

Name

Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute

Legal name

Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute

Website

https://cc-tdi.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

cc-TDI is a 501(c)(3) translational research institute in Oregon that develops less-toxic treatments for rare childhood cancers using patient-derived xenograft models, AI drug screening, and protein degrader therapeutics, serving pediatric patients and funded primarily through family-foundation grants and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pediatric Cancer Research

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Rare Pediatric & Congenital Disorder Therapies (HLAIAIAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Clinical Development (Phase I–III Trial Design & Execution) (HLAIALAE)

Keywords

• Pediatric oncology research
• Translational drug development
• Patient-derived xenograft models
• Preclinical cancer therapeutics
• Childhood cancer drug discovery

Headquarters

HQ city

Hillsboro

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations and Fundraising: Direct donations from individuals solicited through the organization's website, email campaigns, end-of-year giving campaigns, and fundraising events. Monthly giving program allows donors to support ongoing research. Matching gift challenges amplify individual donations.
2. Foundation and Nonprofit Grants: Major grant funding from family foundations and nonprofit organizations dedicated to specific cancer types. Key funders include Megan's Mission Foundation (Rhabdomyosarcoma), Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation, Sara's Cure Foundation (Clear Cell Sarcoma), Lyla Nsouli Foundation (DIPG), and others. Grants range from $70,000 to $470,154 annually for specific research projects.
3. Cancer Grand Challenges Award: Up to $2.5 million over 5 years received as part of Team KOODAC under the Cancer Grand Challenges initiative, co-founded by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute. This represents a major non-dilutive funding award for protein degrader therapeutic development.
4. Corporate and Community Fundraising Partnerships: Third-party fundraising events organized by corporate sponsors and community groups. Examples include the Hundt Strong Golf Outing ($26,000 raised in 2024, $116,000+ total), Alit Wines partnership (100% of sales donated), and Mello Signs Charity Golf Classic. These events are organized by family and community advocates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute (cc-TDI) is a nonprofit translational research institute that conducts preclinical drug discovery and clinical translation for rare, high-mortality childhood cancers including rhabdomyosarcoma, clear cell sarcoma, DIPG, medulloblastoma, osteosarcoma, and Ewing sarcoma. It operates the CuRe-FAST biobanking program (collecting 500+ patient samples and producing 19 PDX models including 4 first-in-world disease models), AI-powered drug screening collaborations (screening 640,000+ compounds with partners like Novartis, Atomwise, and Nurix), and pushes candidate drugs into clinical trials (Entinostat currently in Phase 2 for alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma via Children's Oncology Group). Since 2015, cc-TDI has advanced 2 drugs into 3 national clinical trials for childhood cancer.

Product overview

The Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute (cc-TDI) operates as a unified research institute focused on making childhood cancer universally survivable through translational research. The organization functions as an integrated platform combining basic science research with drug development capabilities. Core offerings include: the CuRe-FAST bio-banking program providing patient tissue samples and PDX models; BigData drug discovery initiatives using machine learning to analyze genomic and chemical data; clinical development programs advancing drugs like Entinostat and Dupixent through trials; the Citizen Scientist Project engaging families directly in research; and international partnerships like Team KOODAC developing protein degrader therapeutics. Since inception in 2015, cc-TDI has pushed two drugs into three clinical trials for childhood cancer treatment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CuRe-FAST Program A Legacy Gift research autopsy program that enables parents of children with cancer to donate tumor tissue, creating patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse models for use by the global research community.
• Osteosarcoma BigData Target Discovery A research initiative building a comprehensive genetic knowledge base of osteosarcoma by combining DNA/RNA sequencing, demographic, imaging, and drug sensitivity data across species for target discovery.
• Clear Cell Sarcoma BigData Drug Discovery A research initiative creating a centralized resource of Clear Cell Sarcoma data enabling machine learning analysis of genomic landscape, recurrence, metastasis mechanisms, and drug repurposing opportunities.
• Marizomib in Medulloblastoma A preclinical research program validating marizomib (Salinosporamide-A), a second-generation proteasome inhibitor that crosses the blood-brain barrier, as a treatment for medulloblastoma.
• Dupixent for Rhabdomyosarcoma A drug repurposing research project testing whether Dupixent, an FDA-approved dermatitis/asthma medicine targeting IL4Rα, can prevent rhabdomyosarcoma metastasis by disrupting tumor cell-muscle stem cell interactions.
• Entinostat for Rhabdomyosarcoma A clinical development program repurposing Entinostat, an HDAC3 inhibitor originally developed for breast cancer, to treat alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma by reducing PAX3::FOXO1 protein levels and enhancing chemotherapy effectiveness; currently in Phase 2 clinical trial.
• Citizen Scientist Project A research initiative embedding patients and families directly in the research team through weekly progress meetings, focused on rapid drug repurposing of FDA-approved drugs for rhabdomyosarcoma treatment.
• Team KOODAC Protein Degrader Program A global Cancer Grand Challenges research program developing novel protein degrader therapeutics targeting previously undruggable drivers of childhood cancers, primarily rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma, in collaboration with Nurix Therapeutics and international academic partners.
• Cell-based Immunotherapy for Rhabdomyosarcoma A research project optimizing a cell vaccine immunotherapy approach that activates the immune system against rhabdomyosarcoma, using genetic engineering in mouse models to extend immune response durability.

Quantifiable outcome

• Since 2015, cc-TDI has pushed 2 drugs into 3 national clinical trials for childhood cancer
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability6 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AtomwisecoreTechnology or Integration · 5 April 2024Global AI collaboration with Atomwise using the AtomNet artificial intelligence model to predict compounds that dock to disease-related proteins. This collaboration covered 318 targets across multiple protein classes and resulted in a publication in Scientific Reports titled 'AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318 target study'. cc-TDI was among 282 institutions worldwide to participate in this collaboration.
• Nurix TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2024Nurix Therapeutics is collaborating with cc-TDI on the development of clinical-grade protein degraders targeting the PAX3::FOXO1 protein in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. This partnership is part of the Cancer Grand Challenges Team KOODAC program. The collaboration combines cc-TDI's target identification and biological expertise with Nurix's protein degrader technology platform.
• Team KOODAC (Knock Out Oncogenic Drivers and Curing Childhood Cancer)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2024Team KOODAC is a global interdisciplinary team led by Martin Eilers (University of Würzburg) and Yaël Mossé (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia). Members include cc-TDI, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Theodor-Boveri-Institute (Germany), Curie Institute (France), University of Dundee (Scotland), MIT (US), UC San Francisco (US), Rockefeller Institute (US), Austrian Academy of Sciences, and Nurix Therapeutics. The team is funded by Cancer Research UK, Institut National Du Cancer, and KiKa through Cancer Grand Challenges.
• Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNovartis collaborated with cc-TDI on a massive drug screen of more than 640,000 compounds for rhabdomyosarcoma and other pediatric cancers. This collaboration resulted in the identification of dihydropyridine (DHP) compounds as lead candidates for rhabdomyosarcoma drug development, published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. Novartis provided the compound library and screening infrastructure.
• The Jackson LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Jackson Laboratory collaborates with cc-TDI to create patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse models from patient samples collected through the CureFast Legacy Gift program. This partnership has resulted in 19 PDX models, including four first-in-world disease models for epithelioid sarcoma, PAX7:FOXO1+ alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, and parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma.
• Champions OncologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChampions Oncology and cc-TDI share the goal of matching the right drug to the specific type of pediatric cancer. The partnership supports tumor model and data sharing for pediatric oncology research.
• Alit WinesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAlit Wines partnered with cc-TDI for the 'Pinot for a Cause' campaign, donating 100% of proceeds from their 2020 Pinot Noir to childhood cancer research at cc-TDI. The partnership was initiated by Levi Seed, cc-TDI Executive Board Member and Lead Sommelier at Joel Palmer House.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cctdilab
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCwXd-RslD3OqdXCGh1Gcj8Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/ccTDI
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cctdilab

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute