The last few years have seen dramatic benefits from using human cells to treat cancer. More than 90% of children with leukemia have responded when given their own cells that have been manipulated in a laboratory to recognize and kill their malignancy. Other cells have been prepared that will help repair tissues and organs that have been damaged by cancer. These treatments are already delivering a major step forward in cancer therapy, and many researchers are anxious to further develop and test these new treatments. We wish to expand a service offered previously through CPRIT to assist these investigators. The original service (Texas Assistance for Cancer Cell Therapy – TACCT) helped by movin...

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The last few years have seen dramatic benefits from using human cells to treat cancer. More than 90% of children with leukemia have responded when given their own cells that have been manipulated in a laboratory to recognize and kill their malignancy. Other cells have been prepared that will help repair tissues and organs that have been damaged by cancer. These treatments are already delivering a major step forward in cancer therapy, and many researchers are anxious to further develop and test these new treatments. We wish to expand a service offered previously through CPRIT to assist these investigators. The original service (Texas Assistance for Cancer Cell Therapy – TACCT) helped by moving new cell therapies from the research laboratory into clinical trials. This was accomplished by preparing and testing the cells under strict FDA regulations for the trial. As a result 10 new trials were opened and patients treated on each. In addition, commercial interactions were developed resulting in the establishment of several new clinical-stage biotechnology companies in Texas. We now wish to expand the service, by manufacturing and testing additional components, called vectors that can carry new genetic information into cells and improve the activity of cell therapies. We can provide these cell therapies and vectors at much lower than commercial cost to investigators, so that this newly-expanded core will be an unsurpassed resource to Texas investigators. Texas has long supported cell-based treatments and this newly expanded core will consolidate and augment this reputation by efficiently translating basic science into new clinical trials.

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