NEWS
TULSA, Okla. – The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) has awarded the University of Oklahoma a $25 million grant to help construct a new OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center facility in Tulsa, a project that will house the newly named TSET Clinical Research Center and significantly expand access to clinical trials and cancer care in the region.
The award, called a TSET Legacy Grant, will help build out a specialized floor dedicated to clinical trials, including an investigational drug pharmacy for cataloguing and storing new experimental drugs and a pharmacokinetics lab, which studies how a drug moves through and is processed by the body over time.
Stephenson Cancer Center currently offers about 300 clinical trials, which give patients access to innovative new drugs up to five years before they become widely available. The goal for Tulsa is to provide services fully on par with those offered at Stephenson Cancer Center in Oklahoma City, including Phase 1 through Phase 3 clinical trials. Phase 1 trials provide drugs given to humans for the first time, while Phases 2 and 3 trials study how effective the drugs are and compare them to the current standards of care.
“For nearly 20 years, TSET has worked with OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center to reduce the burden of cancer, and this is another great example of their commitment to helping the people of Oklahoma,” said Robert Mannel, M.D., director of the cancer center and professor in the OU College of Medicine.
Oklahoma faces one of the nation’s highest cancer burdens, ranking fourth in cancer deaths, and northeastern Oklahoma carries a heavy share. Despite representing one-third of the state’s population, people in this region have the lowest rate of participation in clinical trials. Increasing access to research-driven cancer care is essential, especially when statistics show that patients treated at a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center like Stephenson have up to a 25% improved survival rate one year after diagnosis.
“Every Oklahoman deserves access to the most advanced cancer care available, and this investment ensures that people in Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma will benefit from the same leading-edge clinical trials and treatments offered in Oklahoma City,” said Gary Raskob, Ph.D., senior vice president and provost of the OU Health Campus.
Since the passage of state legislation in 2001 calling on the University of Oklahoma to establish a statewide cancer center, Stephenson Cancer Center has pursued excellence in research, education and advanced care. The center earned its initial NCI designation in 2018 and successfully renewed it in 2023, remaining Oklahoma’s only NCI-designated cancer center, the gold standard for cancer research and treatment.
Stephenson’s statewide expansion is already well underway, with locations established in Norman and McAlester. The Tulsa facility represents the next major step.
“The first stage in creating a statewide cancer center was building a base and earning NCI designation. Now we are moving into the next step of our journey, which is to provide cancer care and clinical trials closer to home for people throughout Oklahoma,” Mannel said.
The Tulsa Stephenson Cancer Center also plans to offer the most advanced cancer therapies emerging today, including theranostics, a precision medicine technique that uses targeted radioactive compounds to both detect and treat disease, and CAR T-cell therapy, which re-engineers a patient’s own immune cells to attack cancer more effectively.
The new building, expected to open in 2028, will be approximately 176,000 square feet and cost $189 million to construct. It will be located at 41st and Yale on OU’s Schusterman Campus.
“The TSET Legacy Grant awarded to Stephenson Cancer Center in Tulsa is a continuation of TSET’s commitment to ensuring Oklahomans have access to cutting-edge cancer treatment close to home,” said TSET Executive Director Julie Bisbee. “TSET has funded Phase 1 clinical trials at Stephenson Cancer Center in Oklahoma City since 2012, and it is exciting to bring the same opportunities closer to residents of Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma.”
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) has awarded the University of Oklahoma a $25 million grant to help construct a new OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center facility in Tulsa, a project that will house the newly named TSET Clinical Research Center and significantly expand access to clinical trials and cancer care in the region.
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