Aster Insights announces Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital joins the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN)

Addition of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute marks a critical expansion into pediatric oncology research and discovery

Tampa, FL and St. Petersburg, FL / April 30, 2024 / Aster Insights, the leading provider of scientific and clinical intelligence for oncology discovery, announced today that Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital will join its Oncology Research Information Exchange Network® (ORIEN) as the newest member of the consortium. By joining ORIEN®, children with cancer receiving care at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital will be able to participate in this research to identify novel oncology cures. With this addition, ORIEN® will be comprised of 19 cancer centers across the U.S. dedicated to collaborative research to accelerate cancer medical product discovery and development.

“The addition of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital to ORIEN is a major milestone in the history of ORIEN and Aster Insights,” said Dr. Erin Siegel, ORIEN® Steering Committee Chair. “They will be instrumental in expanding and advancing our national research endeavors in pediatric patient populations, bringing a wealth of knowledge and attention to this important area of cancer research.”

ORIEN® members participate in Total Cancer Care® (TCC), the world’s largest and longest-running observational research study in oncology, which has accrued nearly 400,000 patients to date. Patients enrolled in TCC® provide a lifetime connection to their multimodal health care data to best support patient care, research, and discovery of new cures for cancer.

Patients at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital will have the opportunity to participate in TCC, sharing their health data and specimens to help identify novel biomarkers and treatments.

“We are thrilled to join ORIEN and integrate pediatric oncology into the critical work of these leading academic cancer centers,” said Cassandra Josephson, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute. “More than 300,000 children are diagnosed with cancer globally each year. By joining ORIEN, we can bring sorely needed resources to the research and discovery of pediatric cancers, identify new treatments and provide patients and their families unique, lifelong insights into their health and care plans.”

Stacie Stapleton, M.D., director of pediatric Neuro-Oncology at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and principal investigator of the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Brain Tumor Tissue Bank Study, which has nearly 3000 samples, said, “The collaboration with ORIEN is a great opportunity to conduct in-depth studies with ORIEN’s research team.”

Aster Insights leads the Total Cancer Care study and oversees ongoing data and specimen collection from patients across ORIEN®. Through this unique capability, Aster Insights has built one of the most unique multimodal datasets from a diverse group patients treated in academic cancer centers across the U.S.

“The youngest patients with cancer are in greatest need of dedicated research and development of novel treatments,” said Anand Shah, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Aster Insights. “Pediatric patients stand to benefit the most from longitudinal study of their illness and survivorship. The addition of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital to ORIEN will accelerate new cures for children and enable Aster Insights to match the right patient to the right treatment or clinical trial at the right time.”

Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital joined ORIEN® on March 26, 2024.

About Aster Insights

Aster Insights is the leading provider of scientific and clinical intelligence for oncology discovery. We partner with drug, biologics, diagnostics, and medical device developers to accelerate oncology product discovery and development. Aster Insights leads the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network® (ORIEN), a consortium of the nation's leading cancer centers that conduct Total Cancer Care®, the world's largest and longest running observational research study in oncology. Together, we are changing the way cancer is studied, treated, and prevented. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.