# Developmental Therapeutics Research Program

> **NIH NIH P30** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $63,430

## Abstract

DEVELOPMENTAL THERAPEUTICS PROGRAM: PROJECT SUMMARY
The Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Massey Cancer Center (MCC) Developmental Therapeutics (DT)
Program’s overarching goals are to leverage MCC basic and translational science to discover, develop, and
evaluate novel MCC-conceived small molecules and biologics for application in improved strategies for cancer
treatments and to drive MCC’s efforts in leading and participating in national and local clinical trial efforts. Guided
by the 2021-2025 MCC Strategic Plan, 51 members of the DT Program, representing 15 departments and four
VCU Schools/Colleges, lead efforts in drug discovery and development, designing rational drug combination
regimens to overcome therapeutic resistance, and evaluating the very latest and most promising therapeutic
approaches through clinical trials. DT members currently hold $7.1M in annual, direct, peer-reviewed funding
($3.5M from National Cancer Institute (NCI); $1.3M from other National Institutes of Health; $2.2M from other
agencies) and another $1.1M from industry and foundation agencies. Notably, NCI funding has increased by
75% compared to the last Cancer Center Support Grant renewal in 2016. In the current project period, members
have published their scientific results in 410 cancer-focused research articles reporting their discoveries and
observations. Demonstrating the program’s highly collaborative nature, 123 (30%) publications were intra-
programmatic and 154 (38%) were inter-programmatic with scientists in MCC’s Cancer Biology and Cancer
Prevention and Control Programs. In total, 258 (63%) of these publications were in collaboration with other
institutions including other NCI-designated cancer centers, and 64 (16%) were in high-impact (IF>10) biomedical
science journals. Most importantly, members of the DT Program work with the MCC Clinical Trials Office and
the Center’s 14 Disease Working Groups in conjunction with the Protocol Review and Monitoring System to
initiate, execute, and monitor clinical trials. In 2021, there were 153 interventional treatment trials for adult and
pediatric patients actively accruing (15 investigator-initiated, 91 National Clinical Trials Network, 11 Experimental
Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network (ETCTN), and 36 industry-initiated). Since 2016, MCC clinical investigators
have enrolled 1,000 patients to treatment trials. Importantly, as one of 14 Minority/Underserved NCI Community
Oncology Research Program designated institutions, the DT Program largely contributes to MCC’s high
enrollment of minorities (34%) onto treatment trials. The MCC was also invited to join the ETCTN through the
Princess Margaret Cancer Center’s Lead Academic Organization in 2016, as a result of its demonstrated
capabilities to develop and perform early phase trials. Another important initiative within the DT Program this
project period has been the 2018 launch of a Molecules to Medicine (M2M) initiative. With significant MCC
leadership facilitati...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10850925
- **Project number:** 5P30CA016059-42
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Anthony Charles Faber
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $63,430
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1995-12-01 → 2028-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10850925

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10850925, Developmental Therapeutics Research Program (5P30CA016059-42). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10850925. Licensed CC0.

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