The CRIS Cancer Foundation will allocate the 3.6 million euros raised to Vega Oncotargets, the company founded by Mariano Barbacid. The decision follows a controversial campaign that generated excessive expectations about a pancreatic cancer treatment.
The foundation stated that the funds will be delivered progressively over two years, subject to milestones supervised by an expert committee. Study results will later return to the National Cancer Research Centre for validation. CRIS will also provide 750,000 euros to the CNIO Experimental Oncology group to continue mouse studies. Barbacid had renounced his 9.77% stake in Vega Oncotargets after an undeclared conflict of interest emerged. The United States National Academy of Sciences temporarily withdrew the study published in PNAS for this reason. The journal republished it later with proper disclosure that Barbacid and two coauthors were company cofounders.
