The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) in Hamilton has given a four-year grant valued at more than $2.9 million Canadian ($2.93 million U.S.) to the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC).
The funding, part of an overall $9.9 million ($9.99 million U.S.) investment in the OICR Imaging Translation Platform, will enable CPDC to continue its work in developing and commercializing new radiopharmaceuticals. The radiotracers in development are intended to help physicians improve noninvasive diagnosis and staging of cancer, select the best targeted therapies, and rapidly assess treatment effectiveness.
CPDC is manufacturing molecular imaging probes and expects that its products and services will be used in more than 12 clinical trials by the fourth quarter of 2012. Its commercialized radiopharmaceuticals are currently being provided to major diagnostic imaging hospitals in Ontario. CPDC said it is also helping to network imaging centers across Canada.
The OICR Imaging Translation Platform, headed by Aaron Fenster, PhD, from the John P. Robarts Research Institute and Martin Yaffe, PhD, from the University of Toronto, is focusing on accelerating the development of imaging tools and techniques for earlier detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.
