University of Texas to set up cancer drug development center

The institute will transform basic discoveries into new drugs and complementary diagnostics for cancer patients besides improving translational and clinical research, newswise.com reported.

MD Anderson president Ronald DePinho said the new research institute would make use of the transformative scientific and technological advances to improve the cancer drug development system in the US, as only 5-10% of potential cancer drugs are approved as treatment for patients.

"Improving this unacceptable performance requires that we hit the reset button and develop a new organizational model that systematically secures the knowledge needed to fully understand key targets and develop a clear clinical path for new therapies," DePinho added.