START win is big step for San Antonio’s
biotech push

Pharma giants pick San Antonio cancer center for drug testing

by w. scott bailey

When competing drug companies Merck & Co. Inc. and AstraZeneca announced in June their plan to participate in what has been characterized as a “pioneering collaboration” to research a novel combination anticancer regimen, it was hailed by some as a landmark moment in the ongoing fight against cancer.

Their more recent decision to select the South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics (or START) Center for Cancer Care as the site where the first Phase I clinical trials for the drug combination will be conducted has been heralded by San Antonio biotech leaders as a major score for the Alamo City.

Dr. Anthony Tolcher is the clinical director for START. He is also principal investigator for the Phase I clinical trial involving Merck and AstraZeneca and characterizes the unique collaboration between the two companies as a ground-breaking accomplishment.

“There are many facets as to why this is significant,” says Tolcher about the collaboration. “This is something that has never been done before.