The Center for Experimental Therapeutics brings together multidisciplinary teams of clinicians and scientists throughout Memorial Sloan Kettering to promote research into promising new therapies and speed the translation of discoveries from the laboratory to the bedside. This collaborative research center supports the full trajectory of drug development — from early laboratory discoveries to preclinical refinements, clinical translation, and early-stage clinical trials that ultimately can lead to FDA approval.

MSK has a long and proud history of cancer drug discovery and a legacy of many effective therapies in use today. In recent years, as the processes associated with drug development have become increasingly more complicated and expensive, we’ve recognized the need to accelerate and improve the procedures required to move investigations from the basic discovery phase to human trials.

In 2002, the generous support of William H. and Alice Goodwin and their Commonwealth Foundation for Cancer Research enabled us to establish the Center for Experimental Therapeutics with the goal of enhancing and coordinating drug development activities at MSK. The center currently gives broad support to numerous scientific innovations that show the potential to become therapeutic breakthroughs, including both financial and administrative help.

Our researchers receive funding through Center for Experimental Therapeutics administered grants and have access to laboratory expertise and services provided by core facilities, as well as advisory support from experts in intellectual property, licensing, and patents. In addition, the center offers a number of educational opportunities such as retreats, symposia, and research-in-progress meetings to cultivate intellectual synergies.  

The Center for Experimental Therapeutics has created a dynamic research environment at MSK, and a cohesive and highly productive community of scientists. It has enhanced our ability to pursue drug development while ensuring that every promising discovery made in our laboratories and clinics will reach its full potential for benefiting people with cancer.