Fighting Pediatric Cancer with Research
A New Push Against One of Childhood’s Deadliest Cancers
Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma is a diagnosis no family ever wants to hear. DIPG strikes young children, grows aggressively, and sits deep in the brainstem where surgery is impossible. Treatment options are limited, and the five-year survival rate is less than one percent. For decades, progress has been slow because research in this area remains severely underfunded.
Altruisity is working to change that. The organization has committed $500,000 through 2026 to help advance a Phase 1 clinical trial for FLAG-003, a new drug that has shown strong anti-tumor activity in early laboratory studies. The trial is scheduled to start in early 2025 and represents a real chance to move the field forward. For families facing DIPG, even a small step can mean hope where there has been almost none.
Why FLAG-003 Matters
FLAG-003 is being developed to attack tumor cells that have been stubbornly resistant to existing therapies. Preclinical data has been promising, and support from donors has helped push this program to the edge of clinical testing. But moving from the lab to a first-in-human trial requires significant resources. That is where the Kids Beating Cancer Fund and its community of supporters have stepped in.
Progress Over the Last Year
FLAG Therapeutics has made meaningful progress in its quest to develop a treatment for this devastating disease:
The team held constructive conversations with the FDA, helping shape the clinical path for FLAG-003.Manufacturing of the demo drug batch began, which is an essential step before filing an Investigational New Drug application.
The next round of funding will fuel the full clinical trial.
Scientific momentum has also accelerated:
Researchers at Dana Farber Cancer Institute completed an in vitro study comparing FLAG-003 with another potential drug. The results were positive and were presented at the ISPNO Conference.The Phase 1 DIPG protocol is finalized, and all tasks for the IND filing have been completed.A successful Type B, Pre-IND meeting with the FDA confirmed plans for pediatric testing once the IND is officially filed.FLAG-003 data was shared at key conferences including the World Orphan Drug Congress, the DMG/DIPG Brainstorm Summit in Washington, DC, and Pediatric SNO.Demo drug product manufacturing has kicked off, the final step before IND submission.
The team remains on track to file the IND in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Each of these steps brings the project closer to testing FLAG-003 in children who urgently need new options.
The Path Forward
DIPG has taken too many young lives. It will continue to do so unless research programs like this one receive sustained support. The progress made over the past twelve months shows what is possible when committed scientists, families, and donors work together with a shared goal.
The next phase of funding will help complete the clinical trial and determine whether FLAG-003 can become a real therapy for children who have had far too few.
If you want to stand with the families facing this disease and push this research over the finish line, now is the time.
Join the fight. Support the Kids Beating Cancer Fund today.