We believe that if we act now, by 2050, everyone who develops breast cancer will live. But we can only reach this goal if we collaborate.

We need to bring together the brightest minds, the best resources and the latest thinking so that there will be a day when breast cancer takes its last life.

What is the Catalyst Programme?

The Breast Cancer Now Catalyst Programme is an initiative that will bring together Europe’s leading breast cancer researchers and the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies to pool resources and stop women dying from breast cancer by 2050.

The first partnership we’ve made is with Pfizer. Together we will provide exciting opportunities for breast cancer researchers across Europe. 

How we are working with Pfizer

As part of the Breast Cancer Now Catalyst Programme, we will be collaborating with Pfizer, one of the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical companies. Our researchers will be granted unprecedented access to at least 14 of Pfizer’s existing drugs and drugs currently in development.

Pfizer has also committed $15 million USD (around £10 million) in funding over three years to ensure this research can happen.

Although Pfizer is helping to fund this research, they won’t have a say in how the funds are allocated. Research priorities will be decided by our Catalyst Programme Advisory Group a network of eminent, independent researchers from around the world. All results will be published and peer-reviewed.

Led by experts, tested by supporters

We will be working closely with independent experts in breast cancer and drug development who will advise us on the needs of those affected by the disease and the most effective way of making funding available to researchers.

Stakeholders and supporters have been involved with the Programme from the outset, and our Science Strategy Committee has thoroughly reviewed Pfizer’s drug pipeline to ensure we make the most of this ground-breaking opportunity.

Our promise to you

We will publish all results – both positive and negative – so that members of the research community, based anywhere in the world, will be able to access our findings.

This brand new means of knowledge-sharing will speed up the translation of research into new, effective, targeted treatments and therapies.

We remain free to comment on any actions or policies taken by Pfizer and any other pharmaceutical companies we work with in the future. 

As with everything we do at Breast Cancer Now, breast cancer patients will be at the heart of the Breast Cancer Now Catalyst Programme.

Although research priorities will be decided by the scientific community, patients are involved in decisions made by the Catalyst Programme Advisory Group.

This is only the beginning

Through collaboration, we can work faster and achieve more. We can ask the biggest questions and work together to answer them.

The bigger our network of collaborators, the quicker we will achieve our goal of securing better treatments and therapies for breast cancer patients.

We are currently in discussions with a number of other pharmaceutical companies with an interest in breast cancer, and we promise to keep supporters, stakeholders and researchers updated with any developments.

Find out how to apply for the Catalyst Programme.

Find out more