The Center for Cancer Drug Development (C2D2)

University Of California San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this application is to plan for the development of an AP4 Center at the University of California, San Diego. The Center for Cancer Drug Development (C2D2) will be established at the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center to exploit enormously powerful new genomic, genetic, molecular, and computational tools to accelerate the development of novel cancer therapeutics, diagnostics, and molecular imaging techniques. Investigators at UCSD have identified a myriad of potential drug targets, drugs, and novel computational imaging and diagnostic technologies that are of interest to numerous pharmaceutical companies. The research program of the C2D2 will be focused on the use of new biomedical tools and the information they generate to accelerate completion of the critical preclinical steps required to advance these potential therapeutics toward commercial development. The C2D2 expects to make available to partners not only fundamental genomic and genetic information that support the rationale for potential therapeutics, but also novel drugs, imaging technology and diagnostics for their consideration for further development. Major areas of research interest include: identification of multigenic complex genetic host determinants that predict the probability of response and outcome, and that influence the toxicity of cancer drugs; novel molecular imaging technology for functional assessment of tumors and drug effect; novel techniques for tumor-specific drug delivery; identification and exploitation of kinase pathways uniquely activated in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells; the biology of tumor neovasculature and the development of novel anti-angiogenic agents; new computational and informatics tools to identify drug targets and assess drug effect; and, new strategies for antibody-based treatment of acute leukemia.