Developmental Cancer Therapeutics

The search for more effective, less toxic treatments for cancer is an ongoing and vital pursuit at City of Hope. In our Developmental Cancer Therapeutics Program, research scientists and clinicians are collaborating closely to develop and evaluate novel therapies for cancer patients.

To this end, the Developmental Cancer Therapeutics Program has established clear scientific goals that fall into three central categories:
  • To support target-directed drug development by identifying and validating new molecular cancer targets/pathways and developing corresponding pharmacological agents
  • To develop novel drug delivery platforms to improve specificity and efficacy of clinical outcomes
  • To translate basic discovery and preclinical studies into early-phase clinical trials
The Developmental Cancer Therapeutics Program also develops targeted and selective anti-cancer treatments to reduce the amount of collateral damage to normal tissues associated with many currently available treatments. These leading-edge studies are leading to greatly improved cancer therapies, with further advances expected to continue.
 
Through the program, close intra- and inter-programmatic collaborations are fostered among basic scientists and clinical investigators, which in turn has yielded an increase in the number of City of Hope-initiated agents currently under clinical investigation.

Significant infrastructure has been established for the creation of a strong translational research program with greater focus on solid tumor oncology, resulting in a continuous flow of new therapeutic approaches poised for early-phase clinical trials. The emphasis is on speed and precision medicine.

Program leaders Miguel Villalona-Calero, M.D.,  and Sunil Sharma, M.D., M.B.A., head a team of prominent clinical, translational and basic scientific researchers who are committed to a common goal. Because of their work, City of Hope continues to be at the forefront of cancer therapeutics.