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Governor, FDA Sign Agreement Extending NCTR Program

2 min read

Arkansas has signed a memorandum of understanding to extend its partnership with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) in Jefferson County.

The agreement, signed Wednesday by Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Robert M. Califf, the FDA’s commissioner of food and drugs, allows the NCTR to operate the Arkansas Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science for another five years.

No funding amount attached to the agreement. But Hutchinson said the deal will attract more research dollars to Arkansas and enhance and strengthen the NCTR, “one of our most critical assets in terms of federal agencies here in this state and in research capacity.”

Hutchinson added that one goal is for the state’s five research institutions — the University of Arkansas, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Arkansas State University — to collaborate more with the center.

The Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) is also collaborating with the NCTR, which has about 700 employees, including 150 Ph.D. researchers. 

Gov. Mike Beebe signed the first memorandum of understanding in 2011 to establish the center. NCTR Director William Slikker Jr. attended Wednesday’s signing and said that agreement resulted in significant research funding.

In 2013, the ARA joined in with an intermediary agreement that absorbed the priorities of the MOU and engaged ARA to elevate the collaborative efforts between NCTR and the state.

One of two major research projects managed by the ARA and being worked on by the NCTR along with five universities is a $2.5 million nanomaterial/graphene project. The NCTR is also leading a new bioinformatics project focused on liquid biopsies that will help diagnose and treat cancer patients. It’s funded at about $1 million.

The NCTR’s regulatory science center will evaluate new tools and approaches to make sure they are reproducible, credible and useful in making regulatory decisions.

UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn said cited a competitive climate for recruiting research talent, and said that having the NCTR in Arkansas is a unique strength. He said the regulatory center would use to science to determine whether regulations are necessary, effective, inadequate or excessive.

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