MORGANTOWN – The WVU School of Medicine’s Department of Cancer Prevention and Control is growing in line with the university’s long-stated goal of achieving a National Cancer Institute designation.
During the WVU Board of Governor’s most recent session, the body approved a pair of expenditures to accommodate that growth.
As part of the consent agenda included in the BOG’s Feb. 20 session, a multimillion dollar relocation project was advanced that will see the CPC move out of its facilities within the Health Sciences Center and into 10,300 square feet on the third floor of the WVU Innovation Corporation Administration Building.
WVU Innovation Corporation is housed within the former Mylan pharmaceutical manufacturing facility on Chestnut Ridge Road. The WVU entity took ownership of the 1.1 million square-foot property in March 2022 through a memorandum of understanding with Viatris.
According to information included in the BOG agenda packet, the project will consist of interior demolition, construction of new administrative and office spaces and upgrades to mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire suppression systems.
CPC will utilize the space for general operations, office space, implementation and data science research.
In addition to that work, which comes with a $2.6 million budget and a June completion date, the BOG authorized a lease that will see the university pay WVU Innovation Corporation $287,638 in rent for the first year.
According to the university, the initial five-year lease will commence upon the completion of construction. It comes with two optional five-year renewal terms.
Because the expansion is directly tied to the university’s pursuit of National Cancer Institute designation, construction of the project and subsequent lease payments will be funded through a $50 million allocation approved by the West Virginia Legislature as part of the state’s fiscal year 2024 budget.
The ultimate goal, former WVU President Gordon Gee said at the June 2023 funding announcement, is to remove West Virginia from annual lists of the most cancer-impacted states by creating a cancer center that’s up to the challenge.
“There is a cancer epidemic in West Virginia,” WVU Health Sciences Chancellor and Executive Dean Clay Marsh said at the time. “As West Virginia’s land grant institution, it’s our duty and honor to make sure our state’s citizens have access to the most advanced clinical trials, treatments and care for cancer …”
According to the National Cancer Institute, there are 73 NCI-designated and funded cancer centers located in 37 states nationwide. There are currently none in West Virginia.
The NCI Cancer Centers Program was created as part of the National Cancer Center Act of 1971 and is one of the anchors of the nation’s cancer research effort.
Last July, Hannah Hazard-Jenkins, executive chair and director of the WVU Cancer Institute, announced the formation of a leadership team to steer the university toward NCI designation.
