11 January 2017 - The National Cancer Institute launched an effort Wednesday to speed up clinical trials by getting researchers quicker access to the drugs they want to test.

The NCI initiative creates a virtual “formulary” — a kind of clearinghouse — that initially will include 15 different medications donated by six manufacturers. The formulary will allow the institute to act as an intermediary between the drug companies and scientists at 69 NCI-designated cancer centres and to streamline the process by which researchers get the therapies.

The new system could be especially helpful to scientists who want to test combinations of drugs — which is where many cancer trials are headed.

Read Washington Post article