CDRD assists UBC cancer researcher

The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) has scored a modest but important victory with the success of Dr Sandra Dunn in the latest competition of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's (CIHR) Proof of Principle program. The Univ of British Columbia-based molecular biologist was awarded $149,000 to advance her discovery of a protein that inhibits cancer cell growth.

After being turned down in a previous CIHR funding round, she turned to UBC's university-industry liaison office and CDRD to develop a different methodology.

CDRD teamed her with Dr Marco Ciufolini, a UBC chemistry professor and head of CDRD's drug design division. That led to the participation of OncoGenex Technologies and the team developed a new methodology, leading to a successful re-application to CIHR.

"CDRD stepped in and Dunn was successful the second time. This reflects exactly what we are trying to achieve. The research needed to be advanced to be eligible for proof-of-principle funding," says CDRD CEO Natalie Dakers. "We coupled her with one of our people (Ciufolini) and strengthened the application. That also resulted in patent applications for the lead compounds. And we weren't even officially up and running."

Dunn's identification of a protein required by cancer cells to grow has significant implication for the new treatments of breast and prostate cancers as well as cancers that impact children. Her research is one of six projects by researchers that have already been assisted by CDRD, with several more research projects in evaluation.

Since receiving the CIHR award, Dunn has met with a large pharmaceutical company that could lead to further funding to advance her research.

"Our people have an industry-academic background. They've lived the (financing) gap," says Dakers.

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