The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and Bayer today announced two 2023 Bayer-PCF Darolutamide Challenge Awards totaling US$ 2 million to support clinical investigations on darolutamide in prostate cancer.

In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Bayer's Nubeqa (darolutamide), an androgen receptor inhibitor (ARI), for the treatment of adults with non-metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC). In 2022, darolutamide was FDA-approved in combination with docetaxel chemotherapy for adults with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC), or metastatic prostate cancer patients receiving their first line of hormonal treatment.

"We are proud and pleased to work with Bayer on these awards," said Howard R. Soule, PhD, PCF Executive Vice President and Chief Science Officer. "We congratulate the investigators and look forward with great anticipation to the results of their research."

"Prostate Cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men with nearly 35,000 expected to die from this disease in the U.S. this year.2 While we have made great progress, continued research is essential," said Iain Webb, Vice President and Head of U.S. Medical Affairs, Oncology at Bayer. "Collaborating with other innovators brings new research to the forefront, which has the potential to lead to new clinical uses for treatment options. We congratulate the winners of these awards and are excited to see the results of the research."

The teams awarded 2023 Bayer-PCF Darolutamide Challenge Awards are:

Principal Investigators: Praful Ravi, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; David Einstein, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Co-Investigators: Heather Jacene, MD, Mary-Ellen Taplin, MD, Jacob Berchuck, MD, all of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Steve Balk, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Young Investigator: Daniel Fein, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Project Title: Darolutamide to Augment Radiotheranostic Therapy in Biochemically Recurrent Prostate Cancer (DART-BCR)

Principal Investigators: Russell Szmulewitz, MD, Megan Huisingh-Scheetz, MPH, MD, University of Chicago

Young Investigator: Nabiel Mir, MBBS, University of Chicago

Project Title: DAROSTEP: Evaluating Step Counts as a Biomarker and its Relationship on Treatment Outcomes in Vulnerable Patients with Metastatic Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer on Darolutamide and Androgen Deprivation Therapy