The University of Iowa is taking steps toward creating a new institute devoted to developing cancer-fighting drugs.
The institute, abbreviated as CANDID, would focus on accelerating new drug development from the lab to early clinical trials.
Kevin Kregel, the UI’s executive vice president and provost, says it would be a partnership between the pharmacy school and the university’s cancer center.
“We know there’s a real need in Iowa for these pursuits, and we know that rural Iowans face higher cancer rates, mortality, and later stage diagnoses,” Kregel says, “so, CANDID can unite our research strengths and help to address that burden.”
CANDID is short for the Institute for Cancer Drug Discovery and Development. Kregel says the project’s focus on seeing new drugs through to the early clinical trial stage will set it apart nationally, plus, he says the institute will help train the next generation of people working in cancer drug development.
“Rather than focus on one part of the process, by this design,” he says, “they will be able to connect their expertise in drug discovery and development, formulation of drugs, manufacturing, regulatory science, and then into the early clinical trials, which is really important for us.”
The Iowa Board of Regents, which oversees the state’s three public universities, made the initial moves toward approving the project this week. Kregel says the center will need $1.5 million dollars to get started its first year, and another million every year after that. He predicts the institute will receive money from industry partnerships, grants and other sources to help sustain it.
(By Isabella Luu, Iowa Public Radio)