Advancing cancer research

LA JOLLA, Calif.—The Salk Institute, which hosts a National Cancer Institute (NCI)–designated cancer center, and Indivumed GmbH, a cancer research company, have just announced a multi-year strategic alliance in order to secure, preserve and analyze human cancer tissue and annotated clinical data from consenting patients around the world. This will reportedly enable the most cutting-edge basic and translational research in cancer.

“Over the past 30 years, researchers at the Salk Cancer Center have made some of the most important contributions to the fundamental understanding of cancer,” stated Hartmut Juhl, Founder and CEO of Indivumed. “The opportunity for Indivumed to partner with the Salk Cancer Center is an honor which is among the most meaningful of Indivumed’s accomplishments over its fifteen year history.

“I have dedicated my professional life to pursuing research excellence and providing the assets and resources necessary to advance our understanding of cancer on an individual basis. The bedrock to the most impactful research is comprised of pristine and unbiased data. The combination of Indivumed’s molecular and phenotypic data sets with cutting edge basic and translation research coined within the Salk Cancer Center will combine to create one of the world’s most unique research engines,” Juhl continued.

Salk and Indivumed have signed agreements stating that Indivumed will provided dedicated resources to assist Salk Cancer Center researchers in planning for and acquiring the appropriate annotated cancer biospecimens to support specific basic and translational research projects. The Salk Cancer Center and Indivumed will also develop a portfolio of collaborative research projects, where both organizations will contribute resources and effort to advance shared research interests and the development of a global cancer database of molecular and phenotypic data sets. The financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

Reuben Shaw, PhD, Director of the Salk Cancer Center and world renowned cancer researcher, described the potential for the Indivumed collaboration as “one of the most exciting partnerships we are pursuing. Gene expression, metabolite, and protein modification are difficult – if not impossible – to compare, if biospecimens have not been collected and corresponding data have not been documented in a consistent manner. Indivumed’s controlled and rapid tissue processing will help delineate important biological differences between patient tumors. Providing our researchers with this type of platinum research resource will have a transformational impact on our research and ultimately our understanding of cancer.”

“Our mission at Salk is to ignite a fuse that will catalyze basic and translational science, and our researchers create the foundation on which clinical innovation is built,” said Salk President Elizabeth Blackburn. “We feel very fortunate to partner with Indivumed to forge together the research that will unravel the molecular secrets of cancer.”