{"entity":{"id":"purdue-cancer-research","kind":"institution","name":"Purdue Institute for Cancer Research","aka":["Purdue University Center for Cancer Research"],"tldr":"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.","summary":"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.","asOf":"2026-09-09","links":[{"label":"Purdue Institute for Cancer Research","url":"https://www.cancerresearch.purdue.edu"},{"label":"Purdue University","url":"https://www.purdue.edu"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":[],"sections":["drug-discovery","radiopharma"],"technologies":["radioligand-therapy","fluorescence-guided-surgery","peptide-drug-conjugate"],"targets":["psma","folr1"],"drugs":["pluvicto"],"companies":["novartis"],"institutions":["iu-simon"],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":["andrew-mesecar"],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"city":"West Lafayette, IN","country":"US","lat":40.424,"lng":-86.921,"institutionType":"research-institute","website":"https://www.cancerresearch.purdue.edu","nci":"basic","university":"Purdue University","programs":["Ligand-targeted drugs and imaging agents","Mass spectrometry for surgical margins","Medicinal chemistry"]},"route":"/institutions/purdue-cancer-research/","neighbours":{"section":[{"id":"drug-discovery","kind":"section","name":"Drug Discovery Platforms","route":"/fronts/drug-discovery/"},{"id":"radiopharma","kind":"section","name":"Radiopharmaceuticals & Theranostics","route":"/fronts/radiopharma/"}],"technology":[{"id":"fluorescence-guided-surgery","kind":"technology","name":"Fluorescence-guided surgery","route":"/technologies/fluorescence-guided-surgery/"},{"id":"peptide-drug-conjugate","kind":"technology","name":"Peptide-drug & small-molecule-drug conjugates","route":"/technologies/peptide-drug-conjugate/"},{"id":"radioligand-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"Radioligand therapy (beta emitters)","route":"/technologies/radioligand-therapy/"}],"target":[{"id":"folr1","kind":"target","name":"Folate receptor alpha","route":"/targets/folr1/"},{"id":"psma","kind":"target","name":"PSMA","route":"/targets/psma/"}],"drug":[{"id":"pluvicto","kind":"drug","name":"Lutetium-177 vipivotide tetraxetan","route":"/drugs/pluvicto/"}],"company":[{"id":"novartis","kind":"company","name":"Novartis","route":"/companies/novartis/"}],"institution":[{"id":"iu-simon","kind":"institution","name":"Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center","route":"/institutions/iu-simon/"},{"id":"nci","kind":"institution","name":"National Cancer Institute (NIH)","route":"/institutions/nci/"}],"person":[{"id":"andrew-mesecar","kind":"person","name":"Andrew Mesecar","route":"/people/andrew-mesecar/"}],"collection":[{"id":"nci-cancer-centers","kind":"collection","name":"NCI-Designated Cancer Centers","route":"/collections/nci-cancer-centers/"}]}}