RareKids-CAN Leaders Present Vision for Advancing Pediatric Clinical Trials at ACCESS Annual Meeting
RareKids-CAN Network Director Breanne Stewart and Nominated Principal Investigator Dr. Thierry Lacaze recently presented at the ACCESS Annual Meeting in Toronto on March 10-11th, 2026. The meeting brought together researchers, healthcare providers, partner organizations, and Persons With Lived Experience (PWLE) committed to advancing pediatric cancer care, research, and survivorship.
"There are many natural synergies between the pediatric oncology and pediatric rare disease communities, particularly when it comes to conducting early phase academic clinical trials and preparing health systems and the regulatory landscape for innovative therapies.” – Breanne Stewart, RareKids-CAN Network Director
Breanne and Thierry presented during the learning session “Strategic Actions to Increase Future Access to Treatment,” highlighting the many synergies between early-phase pediatric oncology clinical trials and pediatric rare disease clinical trials.
Their presentation included an overview of RareKids-CAN and the network’s revised strategic plan, with a focus on efforts to strengthen Canada’s readiness for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs).
In particular, they highlighted:
Key Initiative 1.2: Building a structured, national approach to advanced therapeutics readiness across pediatric hospitals by:
Working with both experienced and emerging institutions to identify real-world gaps in infrastructure, staffing, training, and operational processes.
Developing shared tools, guidance, and training resources to support sites preparing to conduct trials involving gene therapies, antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), and other advanced therapeutics.
Key Initiative 1.3: Establishing a national Community of Practice (CoP) for pediatric advanced therapeutics, currently being finalized. The CoP will:
Connect clinical, research, and operational leaders across children’s hospitals.
Enable peer-to-peer learning, shared problem-solving, and coordination across institutions.
Support harmonized approaches while respecting site-level differences.
The session also highlighted upcoming initiatives on the RareKids-CAN roadmap, including a series of educational webinars and engagement opportunities, such as the ATMP 101 session with IMPaCT, as well as pharmacy-focused and patient/caregiver webinars designed to build knowledge and readiness across the community.
“RareKids-CAN has much to learn from the deep expertise within the pediatric oncology community, and equally, there are opportunities for both communities to learn from one another as we work together to strengthen Canada’s clinical trial ecosystem and improve access to therapies for children." – Breanne Stewart, RareKids-CAN Network Director
The meeting created valuable opportunities to strengthen partnerships across networks. Participants were invited to engage in the RareKids-CAN Health Canada Relations Community of Practice, where ACCESS members have already contributed insights and experiences that are helping inform ongoing policy initiatives. In addition, there was strong interest and a call to action for collaboration within the Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) Community of Practice, which aims to support national capacity and readiness for innovative therapies across Canada.