Cancer research might get smaller slice of $3B pot

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas bet $3 billion on curing cancer, but may soon spend less researching how to do it.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas is moving toward putting more taxpayer dollars into private startups and less into university labs starting as early as next year. The agency has so far awarded $647 million, three-quarters of which has gone to research.

Bill Gimson, executive director of CPRIT, says academic discoveries must be commercialized in order to get new drugs into the hands of cancer patients. He says giving more money to companies wouldn't betray the agency's original mission.

Agency leaders haven't determined how much more money might be set aside for commercialization. Gimson says the issue will likely go before the agency's oversight board in October.