OnCo
institutionsInstitution

Purdue Institute for Cancer Research

aka Purdue University Center for Cancer Research

Purdue's NCI basic cancer centre, where Philip Low's folate- and PSMA-targeted ligands created Endocyte, the company Novartis bought for its radioligand programme.

NCI-designated since 1978, the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research is a basic laboratory centre built on chemistry, engineering and analytical science rather than a hospital. Philip Low's folate receptor-targeted imaging agents and small-molecule drug conjugates founded Endocyte, which later licensed the PSMA radioligand that became Pluvicto and was acquired by Novartis in 2018; his laboratory also produced the tumour-targeted fluorescent agents used in fluorescence-guided surgery. Graham Cooks's ambient mass spectrometry (DESI) is being applied to intra-operative tumour margin assessment, and structural and medicinal chemistry programmes feed drug discovery. Purdue partners with Indiana University's Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center for clinical translation.

Location
West Lafayette, IN, US
Type
research institute · Purdue University
Newsweek 2026 oncology rank
Not in top 300 listing used
NCI designation
basic
OnCo score
#188 · 28 points (0 Newsweek + 8 NCI + 20 from 10 linked objects) · ranking

Programmes

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  • Ligand-targeted drugs and imaging agents
  • Mass spectrometry for surgical margins
  • Medicinal chemistry

Connected

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