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t m c » p u l s e | a p r i l 2 0 1 5 28 Fueling the Future On a mission to eradicate cancer, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) is using its resources to expedite research, innovation and prevention A t academic medical institutions, from Baylor College of Medicine to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, researchers developing innovative cancer treat- ments monitor the hypnotic whir of centrifuges and peer inquisitively through microscopes. At the same time, the metronomic drip of chemotherapy medication at a patient's bedside offers the promise of hope and recovery. While companies construct bridges across the translational chasm span- ning between academic insights and the marketplace, preventive efforts seek to reduce the burden of cancer by leveraging existing knowledge. But what spurs all of these developments? executive officer of CPRIT. "The reason is that cancer affects everyone—regard- less of age, sex, ethnicity, race or geo- graphic location. It has an impact on all of us, whether you've been diagnosed yourself or not." Cancer's impact in Texas is pro- found. Last year there were more than 119,000 Texans newly diagnosed with cancer and 44,150 deaths, according to the Texas Cancer Registry. Based on an analysis by The Perryman Group, can- cer cost the state $162 billion in reduced annual spending last year. In addition, an estimated 786,000 jobs were lost due to cancer treatment, morbidity, mortal- ity, and associated spillover effects. In 2014, the National Cancer Institute awarded around $200 million in grants in the state of Texas. CPRIT awarded about $250 million for preven- tion, academic research and product development research—more than doubling the investment in cancer in the state. "Since CPRIT was created by a con- stitutional amendment, the money that we have and spend is the money of the people of Texas," affirmed Thomas C. Goodman, Ph.D., chief product devel- opment officer at CPRIT. "We want to make sure that we spend every nickel of that in the best way that we can to find new treatments and cures for cancers. "That trajectory has several dimen- sions," he added. "First and foremost, the engine for this enterprise is aca- demic research going on at places like MD Anderson and other great institu- tions here in Texas, which provides the energy to drive the ideas and innova- tions. If you think about it, our program is like an automobile. The research is an engine—without the research nobody goes anywhere—but you still need a transmission, a differential and a great set of wheels. We try to provide that whole continuum." Rebecca Garcia, Ph.D., and Thomas C. Goodman, Ph.D. B y A l e x O r l a n d o CPRIT aims to serve the people of Texas, as well as the cancer patients of the world, by using the resources that they have entrusted to us. […] It's all about utilizing those services to eradicate cancer in the future. — THOMAS C. GOODMAN, PH.D. Chief Product Development Officer of CPRIT In 2007, Texas voters overwhelm- ingly approved a constitutional amendment to establish the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), authorizing the state to issue $3 billion in bonds to fund groundbreaking cancer research and prevention programs across the state. CPRIT's mission is to expedite innova- tion in academic research and product development research and to enhance access to evidence-based prevention programs throughout the state. "I think the biggest question that the Legislature and the citizens of Texas had to deal with when CPRIT was enacted in 2007 was very simple: 'Why cancer?'" said Wayne Roberts, chief