BUFFALO, N.Y. — Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center will be getting one of the state's two new cell and gene therapy manufacturing hubs.
The state just announced $30 million in funding to expand Roswell's current facilities.
The money from the state will help support the $98 million project to expand Roswell Parks' six specialized "clean rooms" to twenty. Scientists in the lab develop cancer therapy that uses a patient's own immune system to genetically engineer the immune cells to recognize cancer cells.
"We're modifying a patient's own immune system to attack cancer, and this is a technology that we've developed, and that other groups have developed, and it's actually approved for several types of blood cancer," says Dr. Renier Brentjens, Roswell Park Deputy Director and Chair of Medicine.
The hope is that by having more hubs, they can fight some of the more common types of cancer - like colon, breast, and prostate cancer.
"The fact that we have been able to, and we are going to, build this very extensive, specialized laboratory to be able to make these cells that we can use to treat our patients is what makes this so exciting," said Dr. Renier Brentjens.
A second hub will be built somewhere downstate, but Roswell is already starting to hire up to 60 people.
"There is a certain element of if you build it they will come, and we've already seen that because having that resource and having Roswell Park support for this technology, allows us to recruit some of the best minds in the country to Buffalo," said Dr. Renier Brentjens. "Case in point is that that it was two years ago that Dr. Johnson and Roswell Park recruited me back to Buffalo to be part of this opportunity."
The rest of the money will come from other sources including the 11 Day Power Play and Ride for Roswell.