Since its inception in 1956, the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre (ACSRC) has published over 1800 papers in international scientific and medical journals, and filed more than 130 patent applications for new anti-cancer drugs. In that time, the centre has developed 12 anti-cancer drugs that have gone into clinical trial. The ACSRC has the distinction of being the first laboratory in the Southern Hemisphere to discover, trial and bring an anti-cancer drug into clinical use. We continue to build on our previous successes with a further three drugs currently in late-stage preclinical development.
Managed jointly by the University of Auckland and Cancer Society Auckland Northland, the ACSRC has grown to include over 80 researchers. Under the leadership of Associate Professor Michael Hay and Professor Mark McKeage, the Centre continues to extend its hard-earned reputation for getting results and making discoveries that give cancer sufferers hope.
Our vision is to improve cancer therapy – through new drug development, but also by gaining a better understanding of the biology of cancer. The ACSRC is an academic and research group that understands commercial collaborations, and has worked closely and successfully with leading global pharmaceutical firms as well as academic collaborators. We are also involved in the teaching and supervision of students at the University, supporting future researchers and health professionals in the cancer field.
The ACSRC is one of the few academic centres in the world to achieve real successes in the development of drugs for clinical use. This is accomplished through multidisciplinary technical expertise, diverse funding sources and a continual focus on drug development and understanding the fundamentals of cancer.
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