Redefining the Oncology Drug Discovery and Development Ecosystem


The inaugural AACR Drug Discovery and Development (AACR D3) meeting will bring together the full continuum of stakeholders to launch a new era of cancer therapeutic innovation from bench to clinic.  

This summer, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will host a landmark conference that challenges traditional oncology drug development approaches and advances a new era of multidisciplinary innovation in the field. AACR Drug Discovery and Development (AACR D3)will be held July 21-24, 2026, in Boston.

Led by a distinguished scientific committee, the conference seeks to break down silos by bringing together stakeholders from academia, biotech and pharma, patient advocacy, regulatory agencies, and venture capitalists. 

The meeting is cochaired by four AACR leaders and innovators in cancer drug discovery and development: AACR President Keith Flaherty, MD, FAACR; AACR Immediate Past President Lillian L. Siu, MD, FAACR; former AACR President Patricia M. LoRusso, DO, PhD (hc), FAACR; and AACR Board Member Timothy A. Yap, MBBS, PhD. AACR D3 has a bold goal: Build a fully integrated, team-science approach to the discovery and development of cancer therapeutics. 

“The time is now to have meetings such as this,” said Dr. LoRusso, chief of experimental therapeutics at Yale School of Medicine. “Drug discovery and development is exploding in terms of the number of drugs, the way we develop drugs, and the globalization of drug development.”

Learn more and register to attend AACR D3 here.

A Unified Ecosystem for Oncology

A key goal for the meeting is to bridge gaps between diverse sectors, from biotech and pharma, researchers at cancer centers and medical schools, and patient advocates, to the investment community and the government agencies that regulate and approve new therapeutics. 

Dr. Yap, head of clinical development in the Therapeutics Discovery Division at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, emphasized that drug discovery is inherently a team effort. While many conferences focus on specific niches, AACR D3 is designed as “the global, one-stop conference for drug discovery and drug development” where key stakeholders can interact in real-time. 

“This will be the only place where you can have a collective conversation,” added Dr. Flaherty. He noted that while professionals often have one-on-one interactions across these sectors, AACR D3 is a forum where those interactions can integrate all the stakeholders from around the globe allowing them to “frame their vision for the ideal drug discovery development ecosystem.” 

Interactive Formats and Networking

Moving away from traditional, unidirectional didactic sessions, the AACR D3 meeting will feature immersive and interactive formats designed to facilitate problem-solving and meaningful networking.

And the meeting’s format is intended to cover the entire spectrum of development, from ideas that have yet to be formed into companies to advanced clinical data. In addition, leaders from the biotech sector and the investor community will be active participants at AACR D3. “We’re going to hear their voices, throughout this meeting,” said Dr. Flaherty.

The conference will provide curated networking experiences throughout the day and evening in addition to informal opportunities for cross-sector interactions. 

The scientific agenda for AACR D3 is expansive, covering every stage of preclinical and clinical development. 

The conference will explore a wide gamut of drug classes and mechanisms, including:

  • RAS degraders; 
  • antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs);
  • epigenetic targets and drugs targeting transcription factors;
  • cellular therapies; and,
  • biomarker development and cutting-edge technologies, including the use of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) to measure drug sensitivity and resistance.

“I want to highlight that biomarker development, and novel technologies are also a crucial part of this meeting,” said Dr. Siu, codirector of the phase I clinical trials program at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. “We’re going to hear updates on drug discovery and development, but also how technologies enable drug discovery and development.”

A key objective of the meeting is to showcase artificial intelligence (AI)-driven approaches and transformative platforms that are revolutionizing how therapies are discovered. Additionally, the program will delve into next-generation clinical trial designs and forward-thinking regulatory pathways intended to accelerate the timeline from discovery to patient delivery.

Recognizing that drug development is now a worldwide enterprise, a premeeting workshop on the first day is specifically dedicated to global drug development with experts discussing the unique challenges and opportunities today.

AACR D3 is unlike any previous conference, explained Dr. Siu, “you’re not going to want to miss it.”