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ACRF Laboratory at RPAH

  • Research Institute: Royal Prince Alfred Hospital SSWAHS

  • Amount granted: $1.2 million

  • Year granted: 2006

The purpose of this grant was to implement the Cell and Molecular Therapy Laboratories (CMTL) at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, to be known as the Australian Cancer Research Foundation Laboratory. The facility is dedicated to the selection, expansion, gene modification of cells, and/or other cell culture aspects to conduct clinical trials. Funding by ACRF permitted the complete functioning of the CMTL 4 and will create new capacity for the delivery of cancer therapies and relevant research in NSW. The ACRF grant was awarded to the specialist fit-out of one of the CMT laboratories.

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney South West Area Health Service were committed to the development of novel cell therapies and the subsequent improvement in survival and quality of life of cancer patients whose needs were unmet due to an inadequate or absent capacity of such facilities in NSW.

The CMTL conducted clinical trials for cell therapies following protocol approval by Human Research Ethics Committee(s), the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and where necessary, the Gene and Related Therapies Advisory Panel (GTRAP). As such it was at the forefront of translational research and offered sustainable capacity so that recent developments may be rapidly tested locally.

The implementation of the new laboratories expanded capacity within NSW to undertake clinical cancer research in a fully-equipped containment facility. NSW required this capability in order to introduce novel anti-cancer technologies based on cell therapies including (but not limited to): gene-directed pro-drug therapy; dendritic cell therapy; gene therapy; high-level manipulation of autologous and allogeneic cells; stem cell expansion and therapies to protect against radiation or chemotherapy-induced tissue damage.

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