The Institute For Cancer Research

The Institute For Cancer Research, a non-profit subsidiary of Temple University headquartered in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, delivers preclinical cancer research and drug development services to the federal government as a prime recipient on federal grants and as a prime contractor on federal contracts with no SBA set-asides. The Institute operates as Fox Chase Cancer Center's research arm and functions as a 91% prime (370 of 406 awards) across federal contracts and grants, with minimal subcontracting exposure.

The National Cancer Institute dominates the customer base. The top five funding agencies account for all $277.2 million in combined potential value across 406 recent awards. The NCI represents 141 awards and $277.2 million in combined potential value, anchoring the Institute's portfolio through the PREVENT Preclinical Drug Development Program (IDIQ) and numerous task orders for preclinical efficacy, biomarker identification, and drug development studies. The Defense Health Agency funds 25 awards focused on cancer immunotherapy, genetic mechanisms, and clinical research. Across the Institute's recent portfolio, concentration in grant-funded cancer research is very high—the NCI and broader NIH ecosystem represent 316 of 406 total awards.

Concrete capability work centers on preclinical cancer research, translational science, and clinical trial execution. Representative examples include a $1.038 million NCI delivery order (awarded July 10, 2023, ultimate completion July 9, 2027) for colorectal cancer prevention using urolithin A in rodent models under the PREVENT program; a $1.199 million NCI task order (awarded May 3, 2023, ultimate completion May 2, 2027) for preclinical efficacy and biomarker studies on sulforaphane for malignant mesothelioma prevention; and a $1.88 million Cooperative Agreement from the Defense Health Agency (awarded September 1, 2023, ultimate completion August 31, 2026) investigating pembrolizumab maintenance therapy in metastatic urothelial carcinoma. The Institute also holds positions as a sub-recipient on federal research grants from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities, performing biostatistics, bioinformatics, proteomics, and translational research coordination work.

The PREVENT Preclinical Drug Development Program serves as the Institute's largest parent vehicle. The source identifies six task orders valued at $7.9 million combined potential under PREVENT, with six additional task orders under the Preclinical Efficacy and Intermediate Endpoint Biomarkers IDIQ component worth $2.6 million combined potential. The Institute holds the primary PREVENT IDIQ (awarded January 25, 2024, ultimate completion January 24, 2029) with a ceiling of $149.995 million, structured around three technical pools: Preclinical Efficacy and Biomarkers, Preclinical Services for Product Development and Manufacturing, and Preclinical Toxicology and Pharmacology Testing.

Activity has been sustained across the award portfolio. The Institute received 26 awards in 2022, 39 in 2023, 31 in 2024, 18 in 2025, and 4 in 2026. Recompete exposure in the next twenty-four months is modest: 46 awards with combined potential value of $3.5 million face ultimate completion dates within that window. SCI-reported service-contract invoicing (a subset of the Institute's federal activity covering contracts above $150,000) shows $496 thousand in FY2022 (0.9 FTEs), $1.6 million in FY2023 (2.1 FTEs), and $2.2 million in FY2024 (2.8 FTEs). Government-paid hourly rates on SCI-reportable prime contracts ranged from a 10th percentile of $80.67/hour to a median of $164.74/hour and a 90th percentile of $3,095.96/hour, reflecting a mix of technical labor and senior scientific consultation. Across SCI-reportable prime contracts, subcontractors performed 29% of total contractor hours, with 11 named subcontractors identified; the Institute performs most work with its own delivery teams.

The Institute operates within Temple University's corporate structure as a tax-exempt research subsidiary, concentrating its federal activity on cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and translational research. Work is performed at the Institute's Philadelphia-area facility, with administrative oversight from Temple University Health System.