Download stephenson cancer center affiliates with sarah cannon research

STEPHENSON CANCER CENTER AFFILIATES WITH SARAH CANNON
RESEARCH INSTITUTE TO EXPAND ITS
ONCOLOGY EARLY-PHASE CLINICAL TRIALS PROGRAM
OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 11, 2010) – The University of Oklahoma announced today that
the Peggy and Charles Stephenson Cancer Center has affiliated with the Sarah Cannon
Research Institute (SCRI), one of the nation’s largest clinical trials and research management
programs.
This affiliation, the first academic affiliation for the Tennessee-based SCRI, will provide
the SCC with access to the SCRI’s large portfolio of early-phase oncology clinical trials. By
participating in clinical trials research, especially early-phase or “phase I” clinical trials, cancer
patients can gain first access to new cancer drugs.
The SCC, Oklahoma’s only comprehensive academic cancer center, currently has more
than 200 open clinical trials, with over 3,000 cancer patients being actively managed on these
clinical trials. The SCC is ranked among the top centers in the nation in the number of National
Cancer Institute-sponsored treatments for women’s gynecologic cancers.
“Consistent with SCRI’s mission of advancing therapies, patients at the SCC will gain
greater access to new and investigational therapies through this affiliation. This participation will
include first-in-patient phase I trials,” said Stephenson Cancer Center Director Robert Mannel.
Currently, SCC member researchers are conducting more than 100 research projects
supported by more than $20 million in cancer research funding from sponsors such as the
National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and
other agencies.
Last year, more than 2,500 new cancer patients visited the SCC or its affiliated programs
at OU Medical Center and the Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center.
“We are very pleased to be working with an institution that has such an outstanding
reputation for cancer research, education and patient support,” SCRI’s Chief Executive Dee
Anna Smith said. “Their physicians are already conducting innovative research, and we look
forward to adding their expertise in gynecologic oncology and other types of cancer to our
clinical trials program.”
As part of the agreement, the SCRI will provide research and clinical trials management
services to assist the SCC with regulatory and safety compliance, informational technology, and
other services and tools to enhance quality and protocol adherence relative to early-phase
oncology trials. In addition, SCCI physicians and investigators will work closely with SCRI’s drug
development program physician leaders and clinical research team.
“The University of Oklahoma is a great addition to our expanding research program for
the development of new cancer therapies,” said Howard A. Burris III, M.D., SCRI’s chief medical
officer and director of drug development. “Their contribution will further accelerate the advances
we are making in clinical research.”
Mannel indicated that the SCC will begin with a limited number of trials open to
enrollment and spend the next couple of months expanding its portfolio. He stated the SCC’s
goal was to have 100 patients enrolled in phase I clinical trials by the end of the year.
For more information about phase I and other cancer clinical trials enrollment
opportunities visit the SCC’s website at www.StephensonCancerCenter.org and click on
“Search for Clinical Trials.”
SCRI is a strategic research organization focusing on advancing therapies and
accelerating drug development. It is one of the largest clinical research programs in the nation,
conducting community-based clinical trials in oncology, cardiology, gastroenterology and other
therapeutic areas through affiliations with a network of nearly 450 physicians in 25 states.
Additionally, SCRI offers management, regulatory and other research support services to drug
development sponsors and strategic investigator sites across the country.
www.sarahcannonresearch.com
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