Responsibility for Pancreatic Cancer Research Team Moves to Seattle Non-Profit Institution
Seattle, WA. September 8, 2014 Seattle’s own Cancer Research And Biostatics (CRAB), and Translational Drug Development (TD2) in Scottsdale, would like to jointly announce CRAB’s assumption of responsibility for the PCRT, a world-renowned consortium comprised of a team of pancreatic cancer experts committed to improve treatment outcomes for patients with this deadly cancer.
Founded by leaders in pancreatic cancer clinical research, the PCRT is a consortium of more than 40 clinics and leading research institutions worldwide and serves as a premiere resource for the latest clinical trials. In addition, the PCRT provides a valuable collaborator for biotech and pharmaceutical companies looking to develop new agents for patients with pancreas cancer. This network provides the world’s most coordinated effort dedicated to rapidly translating research discoveries into new treatments and care.
“Dr. John Crowley and CRAB have a distinguished record in clinical trials excellence. The PCRT has been working with the CRAB team for over ten years. It is gratifying to see CRAB take this growing group of devoted investigators to the next level”, said Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D., FACP, Physician in Chief, Distinguished Professor, Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), Chief Scientific Officer, Scottsdale Healthcare, and one of the Founders and current Board member of PCRT.
Under CRAB’s leadership, PCRT’S scientists will continue their groundbreaking work dedicated to making rapid advances in pancreatic research. CRAB provides the ideal home for such a group as the PCRT with a five year-old lung consortium already in place and a full set of capabilities for supporting clinical trials including protocol development, electronic data capture, data management, clinical monitoring and statistics.
“CRAB is delighted to add our second consortium and we look forward to expanding the capabilities and geographic reach of this important work. Pancreatic cancer, despite recent advancements, remains one of the most important needs for clinical trials, with progress still necessary. CRAB is committed to the continued success of the PCRT and to the overall goal of improving survival through the implementation of world-class clinical trials” elaborated Dr. John Crowley, the CEO of CRAB.
“The PCRT is a unique multi-disciplinary consortium of highly experienced, nationally known clinical and translational investigators who have come together to make a difference for patients with pancreatic cancer,” said Ramesh Ramanathan, MD, Director of GI Oncology at Mayo Clinic Arizona and current Chairman of PCRT. “We know we don’t have the luxury of time. We need to make advances in the laboratory available to patients as soon as possible, and our goal is to do rapid pilot studies and identify new agents and strategies which can be taken forward into the clinic.”
CRAB’s Seattle headquarters will serve as the business operations of the PCRT effective August 1, 2014.
CRAB is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help conquer cancer and other diseases through the application of biostatistical principles and innovative data management methods. CRAB provides a complete suite of cancer clinical trial services including the design of therapeutic and prevention trials, customized electronic data capture platforms, and data management and statistical services from clinical protocol design to final data analysis and presentation.
For more information, visit www.crab.org and www.pcrt.org