The $22.5m drug discovery fund is backed by University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute and College of Pharmacy.
University of Utah has put up $22.5m for a new discovery-stage biopharmaceutical accelerator called University of Utah Therapeutics Accelerator Hub (U2TAH).
U2TAH will help researchers as they work to translate their discoveries into clinical applications, deploying a mix of internal and external resources.
The program will begin its work immediately, with an external advisory board to be appointed in the coming weeks.
University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute and College of Pharmacy will together supply the $22.5m to fund U2TAH’s pipeline, while licensing will be handled by Partners for Innovation, Ventures, Outreach & Technology Center, the university’s centralised office for industry and government.
U2TAH is expected to specialise in cancer drugs but will back projects in all disease areas. It will be helmed by David Bearss, an associate professor for oncological science who during his career is credited with bringing 16 drug programmes into the clinic.
Andrew Weyrich, vice-president for research at University of Utah, said: “The commitment to establish and invest in the accelerator demonstrates how the university is building on its legacy of therapeutic discovery and research to focus on driving translational medical breakthroughs.
“Through these efforts, the university is making a deep cross-campus commitment to bridge discoveries into life-changing treatments for patients.”
