The Centre for Pharmaceutical Oncology works to answer the compelling need to develop new and improved diagnostic tools and treatments for cancer.
Housed at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, in the heart of Toronto's Discovery District, the Centre for Pharmaceutical Oncology collaborates with a large research community offering world-leading strengths in cancer biology, molecular diagnostics and cancer treatment, as well as a extensive clinical trials infrastructure.
Discoveries in cancer biology provide opportunities for the development of new diagnostics and therapeutics for cancer that include monoclonal antibodies or small molecule chemotherapeutic drugs. These may be linked to radioisotopes for imaging or treatment or to polymers to improve their pharmaceutical properties. These agents may be incorporated into advanced drug delivery systems (e.g. nanoparticles) or monoclonal antibodies may be used to target these systems to tumours.
Following in vitro and in vivo studies including state-of-the-art small animal imaging studies, these new diagnostics and therapeutics may be formulated in pharmaceutical quality for Phase I/II clinical trials in cancer patients. The results of these trials will inform on the design of next generation agents, completing the innovation cycle
Basic discoveries in cancer biology and clinical trials infrastructure are the two pillars needed to make transformative change in the outcome of cancer patients. The Centre for Pharmaceutical Oncology aims to bridge these two pillars by developing the molecular diagnostics and therapeutics for cancer that build on a better understanding of cancer biology and advance the most promising agents to clinical trials.
Vision
The CPO aims to develop molecular diagnostics that will improve the detection of cancer and will characterize tumours for selection of the most effective molecularly-targeted precision cancer treatments. The CPO also aims to develop more effective treatments for cancers that have poor prognosis for which there are currently few treatments.
Mission
The CPO aims to bridge the gap between research discoveries in cancer biology and the development of new molecular diagnostics and therapeutics for cancer and their advancement to first-in-humans clinical trials. The CPO has an educational mandate to train the pharmaceutical oncology scientists of the future through offering courses and research training.