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Biological Testing Branch (BTB)

Kaplan-Meier curve

The National Cancer Institute (NCI)'s Biological Testing Branch (BTB) of the Developmental Therapeutics Program (DTP), Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD) operates out of the NCI at Frederick. It provides budgetary oversight and technical direction for an extensive contractual effort designed to discover chemotherapeutic agents for cancer. Specifically, BTB’s missions are five-fold:

  1. develop and maintain a repository of Patient-Derived Models (PDMs) comprised of patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) and in vitro patient-derived cell cultures (PDCs). These include mixed cell populations, clonal cell lines, and fibroblast cell lines;
  2. maintain a repository of experimental animal and human tumor cell lines for use in research performed by the Program and other qualified investigators;
  3. plan, direct, and implement a contract-supported program to screen compounds for indications of in vivo preclinical efficacy, including single agent and combination therapies;
  4. provide in vivo resources for preclinical pharmacologic and pharmacodynamic studies in support of drug development;
  5. develop new screening models.

BTB Contact Information

Biological Testing Branch
DTP, DCTD, NCI
P.O. Box B, Bldg 1066, Room 101B
Frederick, MD 21702
 

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