Representatives of Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada and the University of California San Diego Health System are continuing negotiations for CCCN to lease a portion of the Nevada Cancer Institute’s Summerlin facility.
Talks began last month, but took a dramatic turn this week when representatives of the institute confirmed that the facility would close at the end of the year.
An institute spokesperson confirmed plans to close Dec. 31 and referred questions to the university, which didn’t return calls.
The closure was first reported Monday by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which said it received a recording of institute CEO Mickey Goldman addressing employees in a Nov. 5 meeting about closure plans.
The plan represents another setback for the institute, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after being the target of several lawsuits in 2011 by professional staff who were laid off. The UC-San Diego Health System purchased the institute out of bankruptcy earlier this year.
UC-San Diego submitted the only qualified bid and paid $18 million to take over the institute in January. At the time, officials said they planned to maintain the center for at least three years with the assistance of the institute’s fundraising arm, the Nevada Cancer Institute Foundation.
MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren and his wife, Heather, formed the foundation.
At the time UC-San Diego took over, the institute had an estimated 135 employees.
Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, an affiliate of the US Oncology Network, said last month that it planned to lease 42,000 square feet of space in the institute’s 142,000-square-foot building. There was no indication how the closure would affect the status of the negotiations.
CCCN, which is affiliated with UCLA, has provided cancer care in Southern Nevada for more than 35 years. Currently, CCCN conducts more than 175 Phase I, Phase II and Phase III clinical trials each year through its national affiliations.
A source familiar with the negotiations said an announcement could come next week about the status of CCCN’s plans and how patients would be accommodated.