Laboratory Information:
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
9800 Medical Center Drive
Rockville, MD 20852
Website: http://www.ncats.nih.gov/
Technology Transfer Website: http://www.ncats.nih.gov/about/org/divs-offices/strategic-alliances/alliances.html
Agency/Department: National Institutes of Health
Region: Mid-Atlantic
FLC Laboratory Representative:
Ms. Lili Portilla
Phone: (301) 217-2589
Fax: ( ) -
Email: lilip@nih.gov
Background/History of the Laboratory:
Developing new diagnostics and therapeutics is a complex,
costly, and risk-laden endeavor. Less than one percent of
compounds initially tested actually make it into a
patient’s medicine cabinet. NIH recognizes that
the
process
for translating scientific discoveries into new tools and
treatments is ripe for innovation. The National Center for
Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) was established in
FY 2012 to support rigorous research on the discipline of
translation, overcoming bottlenecks to accelerate the
development of diagnostics and therapeutics.
Mission of the Laboratory:
Welcome to the National Center for Advancing Translational
Sciences at the NIH. Our mission is to catalyze the
generation of innovative methods and technologies that
enhance the development, testing, and implementation of
diagnostics and therapeutics across a wide range of human
diseases and conditions. Advances in these areas will enable
others in both public and private sectors to develop drugs
and diagnostics more efficiently for any number of human
diseases — ultimately accelerating the pace at which
new therapeutics are delivered to patients who need
them.
In establishing the Center, NIH involved internal and
external stakeholders to guide its research agenda and
pinpoint priorities. A group of NIH Institute and Center
directors, including those most involved in translational
research, emphasized the need for a translational focus that
would provide tools and resources to facilitate research
across NIH. Additionally, a working group of the NIH Advisory
Committee to the Director, comprised of experts from
industry, private equity firms, nonprofit organizations and
academia, identified a need to streamline translational
sciences. Priority areas included:
By improving the process by which diagnostics and
therapeutics are developed, NCATS aims to make translational
science more efficient, less expensive and less risky. In
this way, NCATS complements—and does not compete
with—the work of the private sector and the other NIH
Institutes and Centers.
NCATS unifies programs in three areas:
1. Clinical and Translational Science
Activities
2. Rare Diseases Research and
Therapeutics
-
Office of Rare Diseases Research, which coordinates and
supports research on rare diseases.
-
Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases, a program
to encourage and speed the development of new drugs for
rare and neglected diseases.
3. Reengineering Translational Sciences
-
NIH Chemical Genomics Center, which provides researchers
with access to the large-scale screening and chemistry
capacity necessary to identify compounds that can be used
as chemical probes to validate new therapeutic
targets.
-
Bridging Interventional Development Gaps, which makes
available critical preclinical resources needed for the
development of new therapeutic
agents.
-
Toxicology in the 21st Century, which is screening a
collection of 10,000 compounds to identify potentially
toxic disruptions in biological pathways and develop ways
to predict toxicity more accurately.
Facilities:
State-of-the-art high throughput screening facility
Chemistry lab
rNAI facilities
Technology Transfer Mechanisms:
- Confidential Disclosure Agreements (CDAs)
- Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs)
- Material Transfer Agreements
- Patent License Agreements
Technology Areas of Expertise:
