Four additional cancer centers join Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium

06-10-2006

The Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) announced that four additional academic institutions have joined its innovative research model. The new institutions are City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, New Jersey, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center in Columbus, Ohio, and Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.

"We are excited to expand our model with the addition of four new Member Institutions," said Kathy Giusti, founder and chief executive officer of the MMRC. "It is our hope that our collaborative research efforts in genomics, validation, and clinical trials will result in the rapid development of better, more effective treatments for myeloma."

These new MMRC member institutions join seven leading academic institutions already conducting novel research and discovery efforts through the MMRC, bringing the total number of MMRC member institutions to 11. Importantly, the addition of these new centers will accelerate the pace by which tissue samples are accrued into the MMRC Tissue Bank and will enable the MMRC to support additional Phase I and Phase II clinical trials and associated correlative studies.

"We believe the MMRC's unique research model has tremendous potential to advance myeloma research and drug discovery efforts," said Sherif Farag, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. "It is our true privilege to join the MMRC in their mission of bringing new treatments to patients as quickly as possible."

The Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) is a 509a3 non-profit organization that integrates leading academic institutions to accelerate drug development in multiple myeloma. It is comprised of the MMRC and 11 member institutions.

The MMRC was founded in 2004 by Kathy Giusti, a myeloma patient, and with the help of the scientific community, as an optimal research model to rapidly address critical challenges in accelerating drug development and explore opportunities in the most promising areas of myeloma research-genomics, compound validation, and clinical trials. The MMRC is the only consortium to join academic institutions through membership agreements, customized IT systems, and an integrated tissue bank.

This article was prepared by Clinical Oncology Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2006, Clinical Oncology Week via NewsRx.com.