Protein therapeutics are the fastest growing pharmaceutical sector and have helped many millions of patients. These therapeutics include antibodies that bind tumor cells to recruit immune responses and enzymes which starve tumors of essential nutrients. Compared with chemotherapies and radiation, proteins are generally safer and less toxic. However, the activities required to discover, engineer, and produce protein therapeutics require specialized skills and resources, which presents barriers that limit the ability of most cancer researchers to translate their research into new therapeutics. Recognizing that over 80 percent of FDA-approved therapies are originally derived from academic resea...

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Protein therapeutics are the fastest growing pharmaceutical sector and have helped many millions of patients. These therapeutics include antibodies that bind tumor cells to recruit immune responses and enzymes which starve tumors of essential nutrients. Compared with chemotherapies and radiation, proteins are generally safer and less toxic. However, the activities required to discover, engineer, and produce protein therapeutics require specialized skills and resources, which presents barriers that limit the ability of most cancer researchers to translate their research into new therapeutics. Recognizing that over 80 percent of FDA-approved therapies are originally derived from academic research, the proposed new Advanced Protein Therapeutics (APT) core facility aims to leverage Texas' historic strengths in cancer research by catalyzing translation of scientific discoveries into novel therapies. The Core leadership team has expertise in all aspects of protein therapeutics discovery and development, including a large suite of protein discovery and engineering technologies and a track record of advancing protein therapies into the clinic. This experience has led to an integrated approach to protein therapeutic development from molecular design to manufacturing. With this core center, we aim to make these capabilities more broadly available to anti-cancer researchers across Texas. This is expected to increase the number of new drug candidates reaching pre-clinical testing stages in Texas while possessing the potency, selectivity, and pharmacokinetic parameters necessary to effectively engage oncogenic targets and inhibit tumors. The physicians and scientists planning to take advantage of this program are exploring novel mechanisms to disrupt devastating diseases, including breast, liver, lung and pancreatic cancers and glioblastoma. Research supported by the APT will directly impact the development of new therapies for these and many other difficult-to-treat cancers.

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