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Partnering with BrainPOP
Since 2005, more than 1,000 early-phase trials have tested new treatments for brain cancer but very few have delivered effective therapies. BrainPOP helps answer two critical questions: does a treatment reach the tumour, and does it change the tumour’s biology?
Through its proven perioperative trials platform, BrainPOP works with industry partners to answer these questions directly in patients. Purpose-built for early-phase brain cancer drug development, BrainPOP brings molecular profiling, spatial biology, imaging, patient-reported outcomes, longitudinal clinical data, and multimodal analysis together within a single integrated platform.
Where BrainPOP fits in your pipeline
BrainPOP is designed to inform critical development decisions after initial human safety has been established and before substantial investment in Phase 2 studies. The platform is particularly suited to:
- Assets with initial clinical safety data available, including therapies that have completed first-in-human dosing.
- Therapies requiring confirmation of drug penetration into the brain and tumour.
- Early clinical-stage assets requiring evidence of target engagement or mechanism of action in human tumour tissue.
- Biomarker-driven development strategies requiring patient selection, pharmacodynamic endpoints or other translational readouts.
By generating direct evidence of tumour exposure and biological response, BrainPOP supports earlier, better-informed decisions about dose, biomarkers and whether an asset should progress.
Flexible engagement across development stages
Preclinical collaboration
Access to clinically annotated tumour tissue, molecular profiling and patient-derived models to investigate mechanism of action, identify biomarkers and generate translational evidence.
Partner contribution:
Investigational compound, preclinical data, collaboration on biomarker strategy.
Early feasibility studies
Perioperative clinical trials that directly assess tumour penetration, target engagement and biological response in human tumour tissue.
Partner contribution:
Investigational product supply, preclinical and safety data, and support for clinical procedure costs.
Clinical development and expansion
Progression of promising therapies to Phase 1b/2 trials, combination studies and additional indications, supported by longitudinal clinical, molecular and imaging data.
Partner contribution:
Alignment on development strategy, Investigational product supply, study support, and collaboration on trial design and regulatory strategy.
Proven platform
BrainPOP has demonstrated feasibility, safety and translational value of the perioperative trial model in brain cancer.
The AnHEART trial (Drummond et al., Nature Medicine 2025) established that perioperative trials in brain cancer are safe and feasible, that drug penetration is measurable directly in tumour tissue, and that clear biological activity signals can be generated at this early stage – evidence that directly informs go/no-go development decisions.
BrainPOP has leveraged $30M in external funding from competitive grants, philanthropy and industry partners, and is actively delivering co-funded trials with global pharmaceutical partners.
Clinical leadership and partner institutions
Located within Melbourne’s Parkville Biomedical Precinct, BrainPOP connects world-class neurosurgery and neuro-oncology with leading research laboratories and technology platforms. This proximity enables tumour tissue to move rapidly from the operating theatre to the laboratory, supporting high-quality analysis, close clinical–scientific collaboration and faster development decisions.
The BrainPOP program is led by The Brain Cancer Centre and delivered in collaboration with The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, University of Melbourne, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and WEHI, supported by investment from the Victorian Government.