Texas Medical Center Selected for $5 million CPRIT Grant for New Cancer Therapeutics Program
HOUSTON, TX – The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) has announced the dispersal of 71 new statewide grants totaling $136 million in order to further bolster the advancement of the fight against cancer. As part of the announcement, Texas Medical Center received $5 million in funding toward the development of a new accelerator specifically designed for individuals, or early-stage startups, that are focused on developing novel cancer therapeutics.
The program, called TMC | ACT (Accelerating Cancer Therapeutics), will be a comprehensive nine-month program designed to enhance biotech entrepreneurship training and comprehensive drug development programs in Texas. It will simultaneously provide Texas researchers and startup companies with integrated training, resources, and mentoring in order to help advance innovative cancer therapy discoveries into clinical trials, ultimately leading to new approaches and therapies to treat and/or cure cancer patients.
“Texas Medical Center is proud to be among the esteemed organizations chosen by the CPRIT from across the State of Texas that have been targeted to continue to take the fight to the front lineswhen it comes to cancer and its deleterious effects on patients and their loved ones,” emphasized Texas Medical Center CEO & President Bill McKeon. He added, “This funding will be critical tothe success of our newly formed TMC | ACT program, which will unite business, pharmaceutical, and academic leaders from across the country with the world’s largest medical city in order to accelerate the translation of cancer breakthroughs into new drugs that will help save the lives of an untold number of cancer patients.”
Participants in TMC | ACT will gain insight into every facet of managing a therapeutic biotechnology company, including market research, FDA regulations, intellectual property, licensing, finance, fundraising, legal, and other critical areas.
Information accrued during these sessions will then be incorporated into an integrated strategic plan that each participant constructs in order to guide their company’s business and drug development efforts. The nearly year-long program will culminate with at least one grant submission, and a VC Pitch Day consisting of a concise presentation to investors, corporate partners, media, and other guests.
In order to provide those selected for the program with the utmost in assets, guidance, and leadership, TMC | ACT will amalgamate components from Texas Medical Center’s successful TMCx MedTech and Digital Health accelerators, the Gulf Cost Consortia’s (GCC) network of Texas cancer researchers and research cores, JLABS pharmaceutical expertise, and the University of Texas’ recent entrepreneurship program into a best-in-class core resource to advance cancer cures.
ABOUT TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER
Texas Medical Center (TMC)—the largest medical city in the world—is at the forefront of advancing life sciences. Home to the brightest minds in medicine, TMC nurtures cross- institutional collaboration, creativity, and innovation among its 106,000-plus employees. With a campus of more than 50 million square feet, TMC annually hosts 10 million patients, performs over 180,000 surgeries, conducts over 750,000 ER visits, performs close to 14,000 heart surgeries, and delivers over 25,000 babies. Beyond patient care, TMC is pushing the boundaries of clinical research across its extensive network of partner institutions on a daily basis, pioneering effective health policy solutions to address the complex health care issues of today, and cultivating cutting- edge digital health applications and medical devices. For more information, please visit www.tmc.edu.
