Posted: 28 November 2025
WEHI’s new groundbreaking digital platform uniting patients, clinicians and researchers was unveiled as a major step toward transforming pancreatic cancer care, supported through an $8 million philanthropic commitment from The Hemstritch Centre of Excellence for Pancreatic Cancer Research.
Launched by WEHI scientists, the PURPLE Translational Platform was presented as a centralised online hub designed to fast-track innovative therapies and expand patient access to clinical trials. Early in the announcement, Clinical Lead and Chief Investigator Dr Belinda Lee emphasised the urgency of collaboration in this field. “When treatment options are as limited as they are in pancreatic cancer, collaboration isn’t just important – it’s essential,” she said.
The initiative was developed to counter the significant burden of pancreatic cancer, which claimed an estimated 3900 Australian lives in 2024 and remains difficult to detect early due to vague symptoms. By consolidating trial information and matching eligible participants, the platform is positioned to simplify how clinicians and patients navigate emerging treatment opportunities across the country.
A key feature of the platform is the integration of the extensive PURPLE clinical registry, established by Dr Lee in 2016. Housing data from more than 6000 patients across 57 cancer centres worldwide, the registry is leveraged to generate de-identified insights to strengthen diagnostic precision and inform clinical decisions. According to Dr Lee, the new system streamlines data linkage, placing PURPLE’s large-scale datasets directly into the hands of hundreds of experts and accelerating the translation of research discoveries into practical outcomes.
Designed as a comprehensive research ecosystem, the platform combines clinical information, biospecimen resources and population datasets to drive innovative trial designs, advance drug discovery and deepen understanding of the lived experience of pancreatic cancer.
Underpinned by philanthropic leadership from Jane Hemstritch AO, whose $8 million, decade-long commitment honoured family members lost to the disease, the platform stands as a major milestone in efforts to tackle one of Australia’s deadliest and least-researched cancers.
