NEWARK, NJ--The Garden State Cancer Center has received a research grant of $605,000 from the FDA to develop a new treatment for medullary thyroid carcinoma. "The new therapy is based upon antibodies we have developed that target this cancer very selectively," said Dr. Malik Juweid, director of nuclear medicine and principal investigator on the grant.
"In a series of more than 30 patients, we have shown that by using radioactive isotopes attached to the antibodies, we can not only find sites of this cancer when other methods have failed, but also approach therapeutically effective doses," Dr. Juweid said. The grant will support the research efforts of two senior staff as co-investigators and five technicians.
"We're pleased that the FDA has the vision to support research to develop therapies for less common diseases such as medullary thyroid carcinoma," said Dr. David M. Goldenberg, founder and president of the Center.
Center to Relocate
The Garden State Cancer Center is the clinical division of the Center for Mo-lecular Medicine and Immunology (CMMI), which specializes in the development of monoclonal antibodies for the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of many forms of cancer.
CMMI, currently housed at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, has received a $10.5 million Department of Energy grant to allow relocation to the site of the former Essex County Geriatric Center in Belleville.
