CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Foundation Medicine Inc. has kicked off a precision medicine partner program, the Precision Medicine Exchange Consortium (PMEC), which will seek to facilitate data exchange, advance research and support education and applications of precision medicine in oncology and molecular pathology. The vision for the consortium is to use precision medicine to improve clinical outcomes in cancer treatment through a collaborative exchange of molecular information and clinical outcomes data, as well as a broader integration of comprehensive genomic profiling in cancer treatment.

 

"The Precision Medicine Exchange Consortium is being developed as the most comprehensive program of its kind and will align innovators in cancer care around molecular information and clinical data curation and exchange," Dr. Vincent A. Miller, chief medical officer at Foundation Medicine, said in a press release. "Collectively, PMEC is poised to fuel innovation, support cancer research and extend valuable information and education in a way that heretofore has not happened within the cancer community. We're proud to be launching this initiative with so many thought leaders across a broad spectrum of cancer institutions and practices. We're actively seeking new members who share PMEC's vision, and we welcome conversations with additional cancer centers, data and informatics organizations and payers who embrace the opportunity to collaborate for the betterment of cancer care."

 

The PMEC's founding members include The Cleveland Clinic's Taussig Cancer Institute, Hackensack University Medical Center, The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University, UC Davis Health Comprehensive Cancer Center, the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and The Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center.

 

"Progress in cancer care will be achieved by breaking down the information silos that exist in healthcare and collaborating towards clinically robust and relevant data exchange," Dr. Brian Bolwell, chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Institute and founding member of PMEC, commented in a statement. "We applaud Foundation Medicine and our partner institutions in PMEC for their innovative thinking, for valuing the exchange of information, and for taking a leadership role to effect a positive change for our patients with cancer."

 

The consortium is based on principles of innovation, education and the exchange of highly validated molecular information and outcomes data to improve cancer care. Its members will have access to a suite of innovative information tools and programs, including a shared data exchange platform of de-identified, matched clinical outcomes and genomics data; access to clinical research programs that integrate comprehensive genomic profiling to improve cancer care; and programs to support the advancement of precision medicine and molecular oncology.

 

"The promise of precision medicine rests on these national and international initiatives, including PMEC, which enable investigators to share crucial data. Only through that data sharing can we understand the implications of genomics for patient care," remarked Dr. Mary Zutter, assistant vice chancellor for Integrative Diagnostics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

 

 

SOURCE: Foundation Medicine press release