News Release

Scott & White Cancer Research Institute receives $3.5 million grant

Grant and Award Announcement

Scott & White Healthcare

A grant in excess of $3.5 million has been awarded to the Scott & White Healthcare Cancer Research Institute (CRI) to facilitate the production of new and investigational drugs for the prevention and treatment of cancer. It is the only Central Texas cancer research program receiving the award from the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), a center established to fund innovation and commercialization of cancer research in the state.

The CRI grant is among more than $100 million in CPRIT funding to cancer research projects in Texas. Scott & White scientist Jung H. Woo, PhD, is the principal investigator awarded the grant and facility director of the CRI drug manufacturing facility. The funds will be used in physical plant upgrades to the facility, providing an environment expediting large-scale cultivation of cell lines that can lead to Phase 1 clinical trials, while also subsidizing costs for production of promising drug candidates, and improving processes of production.

"Onsite production of new therapeutic treatments enables us to move rapidly from the laboratory into early-phase clinical trials," said Richard Beswick, PhD, senior vice president for research at Scott & White Healthcare and assistant dean for research at the Texas A&M Health Sciences Center College of Medicine in Temple. "The CPRIT grant is an investment in our facility strengthening that capability."

Researcher Woo has extensive experience with drug development. He is the inventor of a cancer drug currently being tested in a phase I clinical trial for T cell lymphoma. Since joining the CRI in 2005, the CRI has successfully manufactured six investigational new drug materials for T cell lymphoma, AML (acute myeloid leukemia), melanoma, chronic pain, and pancreatic cancer.

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The Scott & White Cancer Research Institute (CRI) is a non-profit arm of Scott & White Healthcare. Established in 2005 and led by Arthur E. Frankel, MD, Executive Director, the CRI is designed to accelerate the development of therapies for human diseases, linking new discoveries and clinical care.

About Scott & White Healthcare (http://www.sw.org)

Scott & White Healthcare is a non-profit collaborative health care system established in 1897 in Temple, Texas. Among the leading health care systems encompassing one of the nation's largest multi-specialty group practices, Scott & White provides personalized, comprehensive and the highest quality health care enhanced by medical education and research. Scott & White Healthcare includes 12 hospital sites, two additional announced facilities, more than 60 clinic locations throughout Central Texas and staff exceeding 13,000 (including more than 900 physicians and scientists and nearly 400 specialized health care providers). Get the latest news from Scott & White Healthcare by visiting our online newsroom, News blog or on Twitter (@swhealthcare).


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