SBP has been chosen as a dedicated center for the Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program Chemical Biology Consortium (CBC), centered at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research.
The Frederick National Lab, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, is managing the expansion of the Chemical Biology Consortium to 22 sites around the country with world-class expertise in high-throughput screening, structural biology, medicinal chemistry, compound profiling, cancer cell biology, and animal models for oncology. Sanford Burnham is participating in the consortium via a research subcontract from Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., prime contractor for the national lab.
The Chemical Biology Consortium is the discovery engine for the NCI Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) The NExt Program is designed to advance clinical practice and bring improved therapies to patients with cancer by supporting the most promising new drug discovery and development projects. The NExT Program approves proposals that have a clear path to the clinic or potential benefit to patients. The CBC is an extension of the NExt Program that focuses on concept and early stage drug discovery opportunities.
Kristiina Vuori, MD, PhD, president of SBP, Pauline & Stanley Foster Presidential Chair and professor at SBP’s NCI-designated cancer research center, and Michael Jackson, PhD, senior vice president of Drug Discovery and Development at SBP, will act as co-principal investigators of select projects.
As a CBC Dedicated Center, SBP will participate in an integrated network of chemical biologists and molecular oncologists from government, industry and academia to expand the pipeline of oncology drugs. SBP will perform high-throughput drug screening, structural biology, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology and cancer cell biology to generate drug leads to progress to clinical candidate selection.
CBC participants are expected to identify potential collaborations, navigate scientific roadblocks and obtain essential research resources from other participants. Participants are encouraged to address unmet need in therapeutic oncology focusing on areas such as “undruggable” targets and under-represented malignancies. The interactions are expected to accelerate the discovery and development of novel therapeutics. Participants will manage all of the resources generated under this program, including intellectual property (IP), in a manner which promotes the sharing of resources, therapeutic and diagnostic candidates, and data among the CBC participants. Participant activities are geared toward the development of cancer therapeutics and diagnostics through cooperation and communication among the CBC.