Cancer drugs phase I trials center initiated by START Shanghai

START to Open in Shanghai

Thursday, February 10, 2011 San Antonio-based START (South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics) recently announced it will open START Shanghai in July, 2011 — a joint venture between START and the China-based venture capital firm, Cenova Ventures. San Antonio, TX — START Shanghai will be China's first oncology program created to provide patients with innovative early phase anti-cancer drugs and will be located at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai's largest cancer hospital.

Fudan has an estimated 600,000 patient visits per year. START Shanghai is the third in START's planned network of global satellite Phase I clinical research sites which includes START Madrid , the organization's first non-U.S. based site which opened in 2009 and START San Antonio, the flagship site, which opened in 2007. Cancer is a global problem and will be solved only by an integrated global research strategy.From San Antonio, START presently operates the world's largest Phase I clinical trials program with senior clinical investigators who are among the most respected in the field of anti cancer drug development and a coordinated network of Phase I sites. START's model of locating Phase I centers in strategic locations around the globe allows for a profoundly different approach to oncology research that uses all 24 hours of the day in a round-the-clock system of coordinated clinical trial research and makes the newest, most innovative Phase I clinical trials available to end stage cancer patients who live in parts of the world where there is limited access to the earliest phase anti cancer drugs. Anthony W. Tolcher, M.D., FRCP(C) , clinical director for START and acclaimed cancer researcher, is the principal architect of the global enterprise."START remains the only integrated network that exists for the sole purpose of conducting a coordinated system of Phase I clinical trials focused on accelerating development of new anti-cancer drugs for the treatment and eventual cure of cancer," says Tolcher. "Our singular mission is to accelerate the development of new therapies by taking the unique skills and unequalled expertise that has been cultivated at START [in San Antonio] and expanding it to other strategic locations around the world." Like its predecessor, START Madrid, START Shanghai will be fully representative of the flagship center in San Antonio and will operate according to the same exceptional operating procedures and quality controls.The US Chinese Anti Cancer Association (USCACA) reports that while significant progress has been made in the last decade to develop the infrastructure for cancer drug research in China, access to the newest cancer drugs and the newest breakthroughs is still a challenge because of the lack of early clinical trials in China. Li Yan, MD, PhD, managing director for USCACA, calls START Shanghai a "game changer" for China and for cancer research, because it represents the "first fully integrated venture established in China dedicated to early phase clinical research of anti-cancer drugs."  Yan, a native of China who now lives in the United States, says he is very pleased because, "By leveraging START's well-established medical expertise, standard clinical trial practices, and information technology, START Shanghai will give new hope to cancer patients in China by giving them safe and prompt access to the newest anti-cancer drugs." START Shanghai will occupy approximately 5,000 square feet of dedicated space on the 4th floor of Fudan Cancer Center.

About START South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics (START) directs clinical trials of novel anti-cancer agents using a high quality and innovative information technology infrastructure to ensure accurate and rapid clinical trials in a setting that emphasizes personalized and compassionate clinical care. START's head office is located in San Antonio, Texas, in the heart of the South Texas Medical Center.