The development of cancer drugs in the future mandates innovation. Central to that innovation in Texas is the ability to advance drug discovery to clinical trial scale up. Texas’ preeminent cancer research institutes and biotech companies are often stymied in development of their discoveries due to the inability to scale up the drug for clinical trials and commercial launch. While renowned for its discoveries, Texas offers little manufacturing capability.

In 2009, the State, through the Emerging Technology Fund, sought to fill this need by funding The Texas A&M University System to construct The National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing (NCTM), a multi-product, flexible-by-design drug ...

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The development of cancer drugs in the future mandates innovation. Central to that innovation in Texas is the ability to advance drug discovery to clinical trial scale up. Texas’ preeminent cancer research institutes and biotech companies are often stymied in development of their discoveries due to the inability to scale up the drug for clinical trials and commercial launch. While renowned for its discoveries, Texas offers little manufacturing capability.

In 2009, the State, through the Emerging Technology Fund, sought to fill this need by funding The Texas A&M University System to construct The National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing (NCTM), a multi-product, flexible-by-design drug manufacturing facility for Phase I and II clinical trials. In May 2010, MD Anderson Cancer Center and the System signed a collaboration agreement which will, in part, lead to the Phase I and II manufacturing of cancer drugs at the NCTM.

Even with promising cancer drugs from the likes of MD Anderson, an often over-looked step in the drug advancement timeline is process development; the recipe for making the drug in larger quantities. This application proposes the formation of “The Texas Cancer Therapeutics Process Development Lab” at the NCTM which would be a resource available for all emerging cancer drug discoveries. Using innovative and unique manufacturing technologies, the operation of the PD Lab would be leveraged by collaboration with the College of Engineering at Texas A&M.

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