M2GEN® Announces Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Participation in ORIEN AVATAR™ Research Program
October 26, 2017
The ORIEN Avatar Program represents M2GEN's unique approach to accelerate the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for cancer
TAMPA, Fla.,/PRNewswire/ -- M2GEN®announced today that Bristol-Myers Squibb Company(NYSE:BMY) has joined the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network®(ORIEN) Avatar Research Program. The ORIEN Avatar™ Research Program is a one-of-a-kind collaboration between leading biopharmaceutical companies and top cancer centers to accelerate the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for cancer.
The ORIEN Avatar Research Program is operationalized at the cancer centers participating in ORIEN™ network. Patients treated at ORIEN member institutions consent to the Total Cancer Care®Protocol, through which patients provide consent to have their clinical data and tissue specimens to be studied for research, and also to be re-contacted for clinical trials. Through the ORIEN Avatar Research Program, de-identified clinical data from these patients, as well as molecular data derived from tissue specimens, is integrated and made available to participating cancer centers and biopharmaceutical partners to be used to power discovery, translational, clinical and health outcomes research.
"The data M2GEN generates via the ORIEN Avatar Research Program is exceptional in its depth and we believe it will be critical to studying the molecular characteristics of patients who may benefit from immunotherapy agents," said Saurabh Saha, Bristol-Myers Squibb's Senior Vice President, Global Head of Translational Medicine.
"Bristol-Myers Squibb has been a longtime partner of M2GEN and ORIEN," said Timothy Wright, President and Chief Executive Officer of M2GEN. "In many ways, our past collaborations served as a precedent to the ORIEN Avatar Research Program. We are eager to continue our work together with the shared ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes."
The ORIEN Avatar Research Program provides a secure and innovative collaborative environment between pharmaceutical companies and prominent cancer centers. Participating institutions contribute samples and clinical information from patients who provide consent to be studied via the Total Cancer Care Protocol. Patient's de-identified data is shared for the purpose of performing collaborative research and matching patients in need of clinical trials to novel therapies, including immuno-oncology trials. Pharmaceutical companies contribute financial support, and receive access to de-identified genetic and clinical information that can inform the discovery and clinical development of novel cancer therapeutics.
About M2GEN
M2GEN® is a health informatics solutions company focused on accelerating the discovery and development of personalized medicines. M2GEN partners with the nation's leading cancer centers through ORIEN to create a large, cancer-focused data warehouse linking clinical and molecular data. Using this information, M2GEN helps biopharmaceutical companies address the greatest challenges in oncology drug development.