Many first-in-class anticancer drugs have been marketed in the past decade due to discoveries of novel biological pathways and molecular mechanisms of cancer development. Among these, peptide and peptide mimetics such as peptoids have gained significant attention due to their high target specificity and relatively low toxicity due to their similarity to endogenous proteins. In response, preclinical drug development programs have evolved to incorporate both experimental and sophisticated computational models (adopted by the US Food and Drug Administration) so that in vitro studies are able to more accurately and precisely predict in vivo behavior of potential peptide drug candidates. In the p...

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Many first-in-class anticancer drugs have been marketed in the past decade due to discoveries of novel biological pathways and molecular mechanisms of cancer development. Among these, peptide and peptide mimetics such as peptoids have gained significant attention due to their high target specificity and relatively low toxicity due to their similarity to endogenous proteins. In response, preclinical drug development programs have evolved to incorporate both experimental and sophisticated computational models (adopted by the US Food and Drug Administration) so that in vitro studies are able to more accurately and precisely predict in vivo behavior of potential peptide drug candidates. In the past five years, the Gulf Coast Consortia (GCC) Center for Comprehensive PK/PD & Formulation (CCPF) has provided preclinical drug development support for over 200 small molecule cancer drug projects from academic and small biotech investigators across the State of Texas, thus enabling the advance of several innovative cancer drug candidates. In this next five years, CCPF will continue to support preclinical studies for small molecules with expanded capabilities to support peptide drugs and early toxicokinetic studies for both small molecules and peptides. CCPF is a one-of-a-kind academic preclinical drug development core facility with experienced faculty from Texas Southern University, University of Houston College of Pharmacy, and the Gulf Coast Consortia for Quantitative Biomedical Science. The physicians, scientists and start-up pharmaceutical companies who have been and continue to utilize CCPF are conducting cutting-edge cancer research to develop innovative therapies to fight cancer. Research supported by this core facility will have a direct impact on the development and regulatory approval of novel treatments for cancer.

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