The Multiple Myeloma Research
Consortium (MMRC) today announced the launch of the Multiple Myeloma Genomic
Initiative, a multi-million dollar research program designed to rapidly
accelerate progress made against multiple myeloma by significantly improving
the understanding of the biology of the disease. Spearheaded by the MMRC, and
in collaboration with the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and
the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, the Multiple Myeloma
Genomic Initiative is the most comprehensive research collaboration of its
kind that focuses on cancer genomics, opening a new front in the battle
against multiple myeloma.
"The Multiple Myeloma Genomic Initiative underscores the critical role
that scientific advances and new genomics technologies play in the fight
against myeloma. This unprecedented research program will fundamentally
improve our understanding of myeloma, which will prove invaluable in future
efforts to develop better, more effective treatments for the disease," said
Kathy Giusti, founder and chief executive officer of the MMRC.
The Multiple Myeloma Genomic Initiative's research and discovery programs
hinge on the ability to study, analyze, and characterize a large number of
untreated myeloma patient tissue samples in great detail. This kind of
research has been made possible only recently with the development of the MMRC
Tissue Bank, the only resource of its kind to house high-quality bone marrow
aspirates and matching peripheral blood samples accrued under Good Laboratory
Practice (GLP) standards. Today, with hundreds of patient tissue samples now
accrued under GLP standards into the MMRC Tissue Bank, and ongoing accrual at
sites nationwide, researchers for the first time have access to the critical
mass of tissue necessary to start this important genomic initiative.
"The MMRC has set a standard for all cancer research through its funding
of this initiative and its unparalleled Tissue Bank of multiple myeloma
samples," said Todd Golub, MD, director of the cancer program at the Broad
Institute. "We can now build a molecular understanding of this disease, the
critical first step towards effective treatment."
"We expect that findings from the Multiple Myeloma Genomic Initiative will
lead to the discovery of new druggable targets for myeloma and, ultimately, to
the development of better, more effective therapies that are active against
these targets," said Jeffrey Trent, PhD, president and scientific director of
TGen.
Accelerating the Pace of Myeloma Research and Discovery
Bringing together the Broad Institute and TGen's computational biology and
genomics technology capabilities -- ranked among the most powerful in the
world -- with the MMRC's unrivaled expertise in the clinical and biological
aspects of myeloma, the Multiple Myeloma Genomic Initiative takes a
collaborative, systematic approach to mapping the myeloma genome. Over the
course of three years, the MMRC will coordinate and fund the Multiple Myeloma
Genomic Initiative's several related research and discovery programs that span
the spectrum of genomic science.
These programs include gene expression profiling to determine what genes
and molecular pathways play a role in the onset and progression of myeloma;
genome copy number and loss of heterozygosity analyses to better understand of
the biology of myeloma and how the disease behaves; and efforts to pinpoint
the "Achilles Heels" of myeloma -- genes that are essential for myeloma cell
survival and those which may represent therapeutic targets for myeloma.
Findings from the Multiple Myeloma Genomic Initiative will be made
accessible to the academic and commercial world via pre-publications and key
learnings will be directly communicated to the scientific community to aid
researchers pursuing genome mapping in other cancers.
About Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of the plasma cell, is the second
most common hematologic (blood) cancer, representing one percent of all cancer
diagnoses and two percent of all cancer deaths. Despite recent advances in
treating myeloma, the five-year survival rate for multiple myeloma is only 32
percent, one of the lowest of all cancers. Approximately 50,000 people in the
United States are living with multiple myeloma and an estimated 16, 000 new
cases are diagnosed each year.
About the MMRC
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 ten member
institutions: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center &
Research Institute, Mayo Clinic, University Health Network (Princess Margaret
Hospital), Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute, University of Chicago,
St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical
Centers of New York, Hackensack University Medical Center, The Ohio State
University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and
Richard J. Solove Research Institute, and Roswell Park Cancer Institute.
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. For more information, please visit
themmrc.
The Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC)
themmrc