The Stanford Cancer Institute (SCI) and SRI Biosciences, a division of the independent research center SRI International, are partnering up to enhance drug development efforts in response to a lack of innovative new treatments for cancer and other diseases.

According to PR Newswire, this collaboration, which is being called the SRI Biosciences-Stanford Drug Discovery and Development Program, brings together scientists from SRI and researchers and physicians from SCI to pursue the development of new compounds that can lead to cures.

The partnership builds on previous collaborations between the two institutions. For example, the development of Tirapazamine, an experimental cancer therapy, was made possible by the teamwork of SRI and SCI researchers.

Researchers and experts from both institutions see the program as the ideal support system to coordinate and catalyze diverse efforts to discover and refine novel substances that can be used for treatment. The program will provide access to necessary infrastructure that promotes understanding of disease mechanisms, drug discovery and drug development.

The Drug Discovery and Development Program will be coordinated by Sanjay V. Malhotra, associate professor of radiation oncology at Stanford, and Nathan Collins, executive director of the Pharmaceutical and Chemical Technologies Section in SRI Biosciences.

“The SCI-SRI Biosciences collaboration provides a fully integrated engine for taking ideas to the investigational new drug (IND) stage and beyond,” Collins said. “Our focus is on developing ‘first-in-class’ drugs and delivering improved outcomes for patients.”

Contact Isabela Bumanlag at isabela7 ‘at’ stanford.edu.