Innovation will always require new tools – but not everyone should have to build them from scratch. As we move into 2026, CancerTools is focused on supporting scientists who develop impactful cancer research tools and connecting those tools to researchers who need them. By helping new tools be built once and distributed widely, we support a more sustainable model for cancer research – saving time, reducing duplication and waste, and advancing breakthroughs in support of Cancer Research UK.
The case for smarter science
Without research, new treatments and therapies for cancer would not be possible. In 2024 alone, the biopharmaceutical industry invested approximately £9.3 billion in UK research and development, while Cancer Research UK spent over £400 million on new and ongoing research (1,2). Despite this funding, not all cancer drugs ultimately reach the market. This reality makes it essential that research time, funding, and expertise are used as effectively as possible.
One way to support this effort is by reducing the time and resources researchers spend on developing tools that already exist. Too often, scientists face challenges identifying and accessing tools created in other laboratories. These challenges are amplified once research projects end, when valuable materials and knowledge can be forgotten or left behind in storage facilities across university campuses. As a result, potentially valuable reagents may be discarded to make space for new experiment materials, leading to missed opportunities for reuse and technology transfer.
Smarter science means ensuring that these valuable tools are not lost, duplicated, or rebuilt unnecessarily. This is where CancerTools comes in. We support academic researchers, helping their innovations reach scientists worldwide – so proven tools can be accessed and reused, research time is protected, and effort is focused on driving the science forward.
Turning tools into impact
As part of Cancer Research UK, CancerTools is driven by a clear mission: to help ensure that every piece of cancer research delivers as much value as possible. With limited funding, time, and resources available, making the most of the tools and materials generated through research is essential to accelerating progress against cancer.
CancerTools supports this by ensuring that research tools developed by scientists around the world remain discoverable, protected, and accessible beyond the lifespan of individual research projects. With thousands of reagents contributed by researchers from hundreds of laboratories worldwide, our single, trusted collection helps preserve valuable tools that might otherwise be underused or lost. By protecting these research tools and enabling them to be built upon, we reduce unnecessary duplication, safeguard research investment, and allow existing knowledge to continue driving future discovery – extending scientific impact far beyond the originating lab.
We also help bridge the gap between academia and industry. Through CancerTools, commercial teams in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals can access unique, academic-developed tools, that would otherwise take considerable time and effort to source, through simplified licensing. Importantly, this is done in a way that remains true to our non-profit mission and respects the expertise and contributions of the scientists and institutes who develop these tools.
”Maximising the impact of cancer research requires more than new discoveries alone; it depends on how effectively research tools are preserved, managed, and made available over time. At CancerTools, we support this by ensuring that valuable tools developed by scientists can continue to contribute to progress, through responsible technology transfer and global partnerships.
Robert BondarykCancerTools’ Global Head
What’s coming next: tools shaping research in 2026
As we look ahead, new research tools are continuing to join the CancerTools platform, each developed by academic experts to address real challenges in cancer research. While every tool is different, they share a common purpose: to help scientists move faster, work more efficiently, and build confidently on existing knowledge to advance cancer science and better patient outcomes.
In the months ahead, we’ll be introducing new tools that support research needs across a range of cancer types, including breast, lung, brain and – for the first-time – paediatric cancers. From drug-resistant and match-paired knockout and knock-in cell lines to patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models, these additions reflect the breadth of innovation taking place across the cancer research community, and our commitment to making high-quality tools accessible to scientists worldwide.
We look forward to sharing more as these tools become available – and seeing the discoveries they help lead.
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Let's build the future of cancer research
The future of cancer research will be shaped not only by new discoveries, but also by how knowledge and tools are shared and sustained over time. We provide a collaborative framework for researchers to ensure the tools they develop continue to contribute to progress beyond the lifespan of their research project or lab.
By depositing tools with CancerTools, researchers can protect the integrity and legacy of their innovation, ensuring it remains discoverable, supported, and used as intended by the global research community. At the same time, our revenue-sharing model helps generate funds that are reinvested into cancer research through Cancer Research UK, creating a sustainable cycle in which deposited tools help fund future discovery.
This is a collective effort. By contributing tools, researchers help build a shared infrastructure for sustainable cancer research – one that reduces duplication, minimises waste, and enables faster, more effective discovery.
Learn more about depositing a tool with us.
Accelerating cancer discoveries through research tools
References
- The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. www.abpi.org.uk/facts-figures-and-industry-data/
- Cancer Research UK annual report and accounts 2024/25. www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/our-organisation/annual-report-and-accounts
