Indiana and Purdue — An important front in the war on cancer

In the eternal struggle against disease and poor health, medical science won some notable victories in the 20^th century. Not so long ago, for example, the threat of death or lifetime disability from diseases like smallpox and polio was very real — but no longer.

In 1918, an epidemic of influenza killed nearly 20 million people; today, modern medical techniques allow us to prevent and effectively treat this once-deadly illness.

Back in the early 1900s, heart attacks were typically diagnosed as "intestinal apoplexy." Today, diagnostics can identify the threat of cardiac problems before they happen. And while heart disease is still a major problem, procedures such as bypass surgeries and balloon angioplasties have greatly improved the odds for those affected.

Let’s put it all in perspective: Over the course of the last century, the average American lifespan increased by a full 30 years. That’s a 40 percent extension of our lives — an amazing figure — thanks in large part to the power of scientific innovation.

Yet among the many challenges yet to be overcome by medical science, cancer is one of the more elusive. Invasive approaches like chemotherapy destroy healthy tissue along with malignant cells with no guarantee of permanent success. But the biotech and pharmaceutical industries are working to develop more targeted therapies, with nearly 200 drugs currently in the pipeline. Researchers across the globe - in private, government and academic laboratories - are working on various approaches to conquer this insidious disease. The National Institutes of Health have called for a nationwide effort to end the suffering caused by cancer by 2015.

Indiana can play a key role in this effort, with strong cancer research capabilities in our research institutions and private companies. A recent addition to Indiana’s front in the war on cancer is the Purdue Oncological Sciences Center, a new division of the university’s Discovery Park research complex. Thanks to the generosity of the Lilly Endowment, this center will bring the full resources of one of the nation’s major research universities to bear on defeating cancer.

Through the existing Purdue Cancer Center, the university is already conducting ground-breaking research on cancer therapies. The goal of Discovery Park, however, is to maximize Purdue’s total capabilities by involving all disciplines in finding innovative approaches to an issue. In the case of the Oncological Sciences Center, this means engineering, nanotechnology, biological sciences — even looking outside Purdue to form partnerships with Indiana University and the Mayo Clinic, among others.

This diversity of expertise gives the Oncological Sciences Center the ability to attack cancer from a number of angles, from drug development to the use of nanotechnology to deliver therapeutics directly to cancer cells. The researchers will explore cancer prevention strategies, too, using naturally occurring substances (i.e. compounds derived from plants or microorganisms). The center also will develop and refine diagnostic tools, like new imaging technologies and blood protein analysis for the early detection of cancer.

As possible therapies arise from the research being conducted at the center, the structure already exists to bring new innovations to the marketplace. Through the Purdue Research Foundation and its affiliated business incubator, the Purdue Research Park, the university has taken an aggressive approach to commercializing its research, building partnerships and forming new companies. One excellent example is Endocyte, a company based on the research of Dr. Philip Low, Purdue’s Joseph F. Foster Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. Endocyte is seeking to promote a new cancer treatment that involves attaching anti-cancer medicines to folate, a nutrient that cancer cells need to survive — in effect, tricking cancer into ingesting chemotherapy agents along with its food while leaving normal tissue unharmed. Endocyte has attracted more than $25 million in venture capital and is preparing to move into a new 45,000 square foot expansion of the Research Park.

In short, the Purdue Oncological Sciences Center is a symbol of what’s right with Indiana’s life sciences ambitions. Working together, researchers at Purdue hope to tackle one of human health’s most persistent and virulent foes, an effort that could save untold lives. In doing so, they are using the same collaborative approach that makes Indiana’s life sciences initiative so strong, with its mix of public, private and academic resources. In Purdue’s case, it is a partnership involving more than 100 faculty members from various departments and disciplines, many of whom will be working together for the first time. And in the pursuit of such a noble purpose, their work has the potential to uncover new business opportunities — more Endocytes — for Indiana.

Purdue’s Oncological Sciences Center is likely to become a key asset in Indiana’s push to become a life sciences hub and to make valuable contributions to the war against cancer.