Cancer Advocates Wait for CPRIT Moratorium to End
When Texas voters approved the creation of the $3 billion Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas in 2007, state officials hoped it would help Texas become an epicenter of cancer research, accelerate the development of life-saving treatments and expand prevention programs. But a series of improprieties at the institute, known as CPRIT, has endangered the state’s mission, and a moratorium placed on CPRIT grants while leaders work to reform the institute has left Texas’ cancer community hanging in the balance..........................
But three of those grants — totaling $56 million — were approved without proper peer review, according to a state audit released in January. And the Travis County district attorney’s office is conducting an investigation to determine whether the actions of former CPRIT employees were criminal.
The most problematic grant identified by auditors was the institute’s largest and most visionary: $25 million to establish a statewide clinical trial network, known as CTNeT, designed to expand access to cancer services and accelerate testing of new cancer treatments. An audit revealed that three high-ranking CPRIT employees were members of CTNeT’s board of directors, and that the company received $6.8 million in advance payments not permitted under its contract.
CTNeT folded in January, and the state is attempting to recover $1.3 million that was spent on prohibited expenses like employee bonuses and office furniture.
Such statewide clinical trials are “exactly what needs to happen,” said Ulman, who expressed disappointment that rural Texans would continue to have limited access to cancer treatments because of CTNeT’s failure. “We would encourage the leadership to think about how to accomplish that goal in a different manner.”
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