Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research: Home

National Impact

With our partners, we are developing faster and less expensive ways of turning laboratory discoveries into new diagnostic tests and treatments for cancer and AIDS.

Type of work ranges from basic research, translational research, technology development and research support, and clincial/pre-clinical development. Read about some of our success stories below.

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Contracting

Thank you for your interest in doing business with the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR).

FNLCR is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) operated by SAIC-Frederick, Inc. under prime contract with the National Cancer Institute.

Extensive business opportunities exist for providing an array of vital goods and services in support of the operational, technical and research efforts required at the FFRDC.

View our contracting opportunities.

The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research and its prime contractor, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., are actively involved in nurturing the community in which their employees live and work. The campus supports a wide cross section of nonprofit organizations and charities. Frederick National Lab sponsors a series of educational programs from grade school through graduate school.

Grants/Funding

Any successful project requires planning, development, implementation, and follow-through. Obtaining NIH funding for your research idea is no exception.

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Who are we?

The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) operated by SAIC-Frederick, Inc. for the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). The lab provides quick response capabilities and meets special long-term research and development needs for NCI that cannot be met as effectively by existing in-house or contractor resources. The FFRDC also supports other institutes of NIH and wide range of research collaborations and partnerships with third parties, consistent with NCI's mission.

The Frederick National Lab is headquartered on the NCI Campus at Frederick, which is located within the perimeter of Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md., 50 miles north of Washington, D.C. View our organization page for information on other NCI operations in Frederick.

Cooperative Research and Development

Frederick National Lab's Biopharmaceutical Development Program is, for the time being, the only manufacturer of a monoclonal antibody that proved effective in clinical trials and is being made available to affected children nationwide through an ongoing NCI clinical trial. The antibody, ch14.18, was shown to be effective against high-risk neuroblastoma, a cancer of nerve tissue that is relatively rare but one of the most common in young children. In a large clinical trial in 2010, the antibody proved effective, in combination with other drugs, in extending survival rates. Because the drug combination was so effective, the trial was modified to allow all enrolled children to receive the medication. As a bridge to commercialization, Frederick National Lab is meeting the immediate need for the antibody, while at the same time transferring the technology to a commercial pharmaceutical manufacturer, United Therapeutics Corp., under an NCI Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA).

Get more information about the Biopharmaceutical Development Program.
Collaboration yields commercial products.

Early in the AIDS epidemic it became evident that blood transfusion was a major route of exposure with greater than 5000 people/year becoming infected with the AIDS virus from blood transfusions. In 1984, soon after HIV-1 was discovered and adapted to growth in cell culture, virus infected cells were transferred to contractor scientists in what was later to become the AIDS Vaccine Program (AVP) at Frederick National Lab, for the large scale production of viruses to be used in the development of diagnostic blood tests. By the end of the first year, 131 lots of purified HIV-1 derived from >12,400 liters of cell culture were prepared. Accomplishing this task was facilitated by critical unique technical infrastructure capabilities and expertise at the Frederick National Lab (originally developed for the large scale propagation and production of retroviruses for cancer related studies) and the flexibility and rapid response capabilities afforded by the FFRDC organization. The Frederick National Lab scientists provided large quantities of virus, virus-infected cells and technology to the private companies that had received licenses to prepare HIV-1 assays. As a result of this close interaction between the FFRDC contractor staff and the private companies, commercial diagnostic assays were approved by the FDA within 11 months of receipt of the virus infected cells at Frederick National Lab. Use of these assays to detect and discard blood from infected individuals resulted in rapid decrease of blood transfusion associated infections to less than 500/year.
Nanotechnology Gives Failed Cancer Drugs a Second Life

The Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory, part of the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, is leading the way in medical applications of nanotechnology, including diagnostics, imaging technologies, and targeted cancer therapeutics. NCL is a national resource and knowledge base for all cancer researchers to assist in the regulatory review of nanotechnologies intended for cancer therapies and diagnostics. By providing the critical infrastructure and characterization services to researchers across the country, NCL accelerates the transition of basic nanoscale particles and devices into clinical applications to help cancer patients. In collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the NCL has developed protocols for the thorough characterization of nanoparticles, making them suitable for clinical studies. The laboratory accepts proposals from investigators nationwide and has fully characterized more than 280 nanoparticles, five of which have been approved by the FDA for human clinical studies. Current projects include reformulating cancer drugs that previously failed clinical trials because of excessive toxicity or other issues. For example, tumor necrosis factor, a potent killer of cancer cells, was shelved after clinical trials showed it was too toxic and unsafe for human use. NCL worked with CytImmune Sciences Inc., which reformulated this therapy with nanoparticles, causing it to zero in on tumors and spare the rest of the body from ill effects. The drug was recently approved by the FDA for Phase II human trials.