Contacts:
| Catherine Berger FasterCures (202) 654-7085 cberger@fastercures.org |
Christine Mackenzie Feinstein Kean Healthcare (617) 577-8110 Christine.mackenzie@fkhealth.com |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 19, 2006
FasterCures launches BioBank Central
Web-based portal will educate patients, doctors, researchers and the public about biorepositories and their role in medical research
Washington, D.C. – Highlighting the role patients can play in accelerating medical research, FasterCures today launched BioBank Central – www.biobankcentral.org – a Web-based portal dedicated to advancing the use of human biological materials to accelerate the development of new medical therapies and cures. BioBank Central will assist researchers who require biological materials for their studies, encourage the donation of tissue and blood by patients, and inform the public about the critical role of biobanks (or biorepositories) in enabling modern biomedical research. Site sponsors include IBM, Affymetrix, Bioaccelerate Holdings Inc., and Invitrogen Corporation.
“We hope BioBank Central will be a touchstone for patients, volunteers, doctors and researchers who are interested in learning more about the proper use of human biological materials in research,” said FasterCures President Greg Simon. “BioBank Central will highlight the importance of studying basic human biology through biological materials, and will shed light on the proper ways to collect, maintain and use such materials in research.”
Simon continued: “With an Internet search engine, you can find the answers to all sorts of things in less than a second. But if you’re a researcher who wants to find a tissue or blood serum collection to study cancer or Parkinson's disease, it might take you months to find the right material. That delay, in turn, means a delay in getting better treatments to the patient. BioBank Central will help accelerate that process.”
Human biospecimens can provide a bridge between emerging molecular information and clinical information, by enabling researchers to study the molecular characteristics of actual human disease, and then to correlate those patterns with what is known about the clinical progression of the disease. Specifically, human biospecimens can be used to identify and validate drug targets; identify disease mechanisms; develop screening tests for “biomarkers” associated with certain sub-types of a disease; group patients based on their genetic characteristics and likelihood of positive response, for testing of new drugs; and group patients based on the “biomarkers” of their disease to determine which treatment is appropriate.
But there are many challenges facing U.S. biobanks, including logistical, technical, ethical, financial, intellectual property, and information technology issues. While science and technology leaders address these challenges, BioBank Central will serve as an accurate and timely source of knowledge and news about biorepositories and their role in research and drug development.
The Web site, built in partnership with Feinstein Kean Healthcare, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, also provides a working group venue, patient and public education programs, and a forum for international collaboration and harmonization of best practices.
About IBM Healthcare & Life Sciences:
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with more than 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. IBM Healthcare and Life Sciences brings together IBM resources, including information technology, deep industry insights, and research expertise, to help clients develop and deliver safer, more affordable and more effective diagnostics, drugs and medical care. For more information, please visit www.ibm.com/industries/healthcare.
About Affymetrix:
Affymetrix scientists invented the world's first high-density microarray in 1989 and began selling the first commercial microarray in 1994. Since then, Affymetrix GeneChip® technology has become the industry standard in molecular biology research. Affymetrix technology is used by the world's top pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology companies as well as leading academic, government and not-for-profit research institutes. More than 1,300 systems have been installed around the world and nearly 3,000 peer-reviewed papers have been published using the technology. Affymetrix' patented photolithographic manufacturing process provides the most information capacity available today on an array, enabling researchers to use a whole-genome approach to analyzing the relationship between genetics and health. Affymetrix is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with manufacturing facilities in Sacramento, Calif., and Bedford, Mass. The company maintains important sales and marketing operations in Europe and Asia and has about 1,000 employees worldwide. For more information, please visit www.Affymetrix.com.
About Bioaccelerate:
Bioaccelerate Holdings Inc. is a pharmaceutical development organization ("PDO") that seeks to acquire, develop and commercialize novel pharmaceutical compounds in an efficient, cost-effective way. Bioaccelerate uses its broad network of academic, industry and capital market relationships to expedite drug development and raise capital to create and fund its subsidiary companies, which are organized by vertical portfolios in five therapeutic areas: oncology, specialty pharmaceuticals, central nervous system disorders (CNS), cardiovascular disease and anti-infectives. For more information, please visit www.bioaccelerate.com.
About Invitrogen:
Invitrogen Corporation (Nasdaq: IVGN) provides products and services that support academic and government research institutions and pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide in their efforts to improve the human condition. The company provides essential life science technologies for disease research, drug discovery, and commercial bioproduction. Invitrogen's own research and development efforts are focused on breakthrough innovation in all major areas of biological discovery including functional genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and cell biology – placing Invitrogen's products in nearly every major laboratory in the world. Founded in 1987, Invitrogen is headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and conducts business in more than 70 countries around the world. The company globally employs approximately 4,500 scientists and other professionals and had revenues of more than $1 billion in 2004. For more information, visit www.invitrogen.com.
About Feinstein Kean Healthcare:
Feinstein Kean Healthcare, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, specializes in integrated corporate and product communications for life sciences and healthcare companies and organizations. The firm's Molecular Medicine practice serves the governmental, academic, and private sector organizations that are driving the new generation of technologies and products to transform health care in the 21st century. Feinstein Kean clients include four of the world's five largest pharmaceutical companies; government agencies, including the National Cancer Institute; emerging biopharmaceutical companies; and policy organizations. For more information, visit: www.fkhealth.com.
About FasterCures:
FasterCures / The Center for Accelerating Medical Solutions is committed to saving lives by saving time in the research, discovery and development of new treatments for deadly and debilitating diseases. FasterCures was founded by Michael Milken as an initiative of the Milken Institute and is nonpartisan, nonprofit and independent of interest groups. For more information, visit www.fastercures.org.
