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Re: cjgaddy post# 62596

Thursday, 08/18/2011 4:53:39 PM

Thursday, August 18, 2011 4:53:39 PM

8-2011: Short UTSW Article Highlights 3-2011 $4.6mm CPRIT Award to UTSW’s Drs. Philip Thorpe, Elizabeth Ward Ober, Ralph Mason, and another $1.4mm to UT/Dallas’ Dr. Raimund Ober to develop a new class of AntiPS anti-cancer drugs ($6.0mm total)…

“CPRIT Grant Funds Research for New Antibody-Based Cancer Drugs”
By Debbie Bolles (UTSW/Dallas), August 2011
• Research is under way at UT Southwestern to develop more effective antibody-based drugs that destroy the blood vessels that nourish tumors, killing cancer without harming healthy tissue.
http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/utsw/cda/dept493066/files/650538.html

A $4.57 million grant from the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) is funding UT Southwestern’s portion of the project, which is led by Dr. E. Sally Ward, professor of immunology and in the Cancer Immunobiology Center. Co-investigators are Dr. Philip Thorpe, professor of pharmacology in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center; Dr. Ralph Mason, professor of radiology; and Dr. Raimund Ober, adjunct professor of immunology at UT Southwestern and professor of electrical engineering at UT Dallas.
PHOTO:

”Dr. E. Sally Ward (center) and her co-investigators Drs. Philip Thorpe (left) and Ralph Mason received a $4.57 million grant from CPRIT.”

Over the next 5 years, the research team hopes to generate 2 or 3 promising cancer drugs that can be taken to clinical trials. This research builds on earlier work by Dr. Thorpe, who discovered bavituximab, a drug of the same type now in clinical trials for cancer treatment.

“Antibodies as therapeutics tend to be a lot more site-specific and have many less side effects than chemotherapy drugs,” said Dr. Ward, whose expertise is in protein and antibody engineering.

The FDA has approved more than 20 antibody-based drugs, with about half targeting cancer. Rituxan, the first monoclonal antibody for cancer treatment, was approved in 1997.
Dr. Thorpe holds the Serena S. Simmons Distinguished Chair in Cancer Immunopharmacology.
Dr. Ward holds the Paul and Betty Meek-FINA Professorship in Molecular Immunology.
*end*

= = = = = = =
3-24-11: Phil Thorpe, E.Ward, R.Ober, R.Mason awarded $6.0mm* by Texas CPRIT http://tinyurl.com/4c2sm4k & http://tinyurl.com/65fjmpw
…"to develop a new class of [Anti-PS] therapeutics to treat cancers involving the brain & nervous systems, breast, liver, interhepatic bile duct, lung, bronchs, and prostate."

*Dr. Raimund Ober’s $1.4mm component of the $6.0mm total [AntiPS Cancer project #RP110441: P.Thorpe, E.Ward, R.Ober, R.Mason] was not included in the 3-25-11 UTSW release because he is an Adjunct Prof. at UTSW, but based out of UT/Dallas.