The Developmental Therapeutics Program (DT) fosters cancer-focused inter-disciplinary research among basic scientists and clinical researchers who are focused on the discovery, development, and delivery of new anti-cancer therapies. The Program Leaders promote interaction and collaboration among DT members, which stimulates breakthroughs in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer.

Our researchers are from the University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz and Boulder campuses, Colorado State University, Children's Hospital Colorado, National Jewish Health, as well as the Denver VA Medical Center, local biotechnology organizations, and select community practices. 

The goals of the DT Program are to integrate the processes of discovery, development, and delivery of new anticancer agents across our catchment area, and ultimately to reduce the burden of cancer in our population.

These goals of the program are carried out through seminars, conferences, journal clubs, retreats, courses, training and pilot grants, collaborations, and mentoring.

Discovery - Most drug discovery now occurs within the pharmaceutical industry. Our members, who work in signal transduction, natural products, and drug targeting, are discovering novel anticancer agents. 

Preclinical Development and Validation - Preclinical validation includes agents discovered at the Cancer Center, collaboratively with, or from the biopharmaceutical industry. The major categories of preclinical investigation in the DT program are stem cell therapeutics, targeted therapies, immunotherapy, pharmacology, metabolomics, novel combinations, imaging, and veterinary/comparative oncology. This focus group develops hypotheses that can be tested in translational models and early phase clinical trials. 

Early Clinical Development - Novel anticancer therapy testing begins in phase I clinical trials. Testing the efficacy of new agents is becoming increasingly complex. New targets may vary considerably among tumor subsets, and agents may target several pathways. DT Program members interact extensively with the NCI Cancer Therapy and Evaluation Program (CTEP), NCI-sponsored Cooperative Groups, and the biopharmaceutical industry. The Adult and Pediatric Phase I Programs continue to grow considerably with continuously increasing enrollment using a "hub and spoke" model to facilitate the early transition of agents into disease-directed trials when indicated by efficacy or target validation. 

Delivery - Clinical members of the DT Program provide high-quality cancer care by incorporating phase II and phase III trials into disease-specific settings. Delivery also includes Pediatric, Veterinary, and Radiation Oncology (non-TRM, HRM), as well as tumor types that are not included in the TRM and HRM Programs (GI, cutaneous oncology, CNS, leukemia/lymphoma, sarcoma, immunodeficiency-related malignancies, and hematologic malignancies). In addition, the Program Co-Leaders together determine the scientific direction and activities of the DT Program and foster and engage junior faculty and mentored members in each of these components.