Category Archives: Pharmacogenomics

Some students at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York will have the chance to sequence themselves after the school announced on Monday that it is launching a course that allows students to sequence, analyze, and interpret their own complete genome.

The elective course, called "Practical Analysis of Your Personal Genome," also gives students the option to sequence an anonymous reference genome, if the prospects of knowing the deep dark secrets hidden away in their own genes make them shudder.

There are about 20 students in the course, Mount Sinai says.

While sequencing has been heralded as a potentially groundbreaking technology that may open new diagnosis and treatment methods for physicians, many have also warned that in spite of all the data resulting from sequencing, the medical community is ill-equipped to make sense of all the information.

This course, Mount Sinai says, is designed to bridge that gulf.

"For precision medicine to become a routine in the medical clinic, we need to train the next generation of physicians to harness sequencing-driven medical genetics," says Dennis Charney, the dean of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in a statement. "We believe that an approach tailored to each individual patient's diagnosis and treatment, informed by genomic information, will provide dramatic improvements in the quality of care."

The school will conduct a questionnaire-based study to evaluate how much more knowledge the guinea pigs uh, we mean students who analyzed their own genome demonstrated. They also will be asked about the utility of whole-genome sequencing and the impact on psychological well-being.

Mount Sinai's announcement follows one from the University of Miami a few weeks ago that it is offering a master's degree in genomic medicine. That program seeks to teach future doctors to interpret and apply genomic information in the diagnosis and treatment of patients, as Daily Scan's sister publication Pharmacogenomics Reporter recently reported. Additionally, Pharmacogenomics Reporter wrote in 2010 about a similar, genotyping-based elective course at Stanford University.

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Student Physician, Sequence Thyself

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/jtwtps/human_genes_and) has announced the addition of Elsevier Science and Technology's new book "Human Genes and Genomes. Science, Health, Society" to their offering.

In the nearly 60 years since Watson and Crick proposed the double helical structure of DNA, the molecule of heredity, waves of discoveries have made genetics the most thrilling field in the sciences. The study of genes and genomics today explores all aspects of the life with relevance in the lab, in the doctor's office, in the courtroom and even in social relationships. In this helpful guidebook, one ofthe most respected and accomplished human geneticists of our time communicates the importance of genes and genomics studies in all aspects of life. With the use of core concepts and the integration of extensive references, this book provides students and professionals alike with the most in-depth view of the current state of the science and its relevance across disciplines.

- Bridges the gap between basic human genetic understanding and one of the most promising avenues for advances in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of human disease.

- Includes the latest information on diagnostic testing, population screening, predicting disease susceptibility, pharmacogenomics and more

- Explores ethical, legal, regulatory and economic aspects of genomics in medicine.

- Integrates historical (classical) genetics approach with the latest discoveries in structural and functional genomics

Key Topics Covered:

Foreword

Framing the Field

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Research and Markets: Human Genes and Genomes. Science, Health, Society Provides Students and Professionals Alike With ...

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Third Rock Ventures, LLC, a venture capital firm focused on building life sciences companies, today announced that Felix W. Frueh, Ph.D., has joined Third Rock as an entrepreneur-in-residence (EIR). As an EIR, Dr. Frueh will provide strategic input on new and existing portfolio companies with a particular focus on personalized medicine.

We are pleased to welcome Felix to our growing team of industry leaders, said Alexis Borisy, partner of Third Rock Ventures. Since the founding of Third Rock, we have been dedicated to launching companies focused on personalized medicine, and Felix is the ideal person to help us continue to grow and develop those companies in our portfolio and discover new opportunities to invest in the space.

Dr. Frueh is a thought leader in personalized medicine with 15 years of R&D, management and policy experience. Most recently, Dr. Frueh served as president of the Medco Research Institute, leading Medcos real-world, outcomes-oriented research initiatives and collaborations after having formed Medcos personalized medicine research and development organization. Prior to joining Medco, Dr. Frueh was associate director for genomics at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where he built and led the core genomics review team in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and chaired the first FDA-wide, interdisciplinary pharmacogenomics review group (IPRG). Before joining the FDA, he held senior positions at several biotechnology companies. Dr. Frueh has been a member of various working groups on genetics and genomics at the FDA and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). He serves on the board of the Personalized Medicine Coalition and is also a board member at Enterome Biosciences. He is an adjunct faculty member at the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy (IPIT) at the University of North Carolina (UNC) and held faculty appointments in the Departments of Pharmacology and Medicine at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University and the University of Basel, Switzerland, where he also received his Ph.D. in biochemistry.

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to see new technologies and innovative approaches in personalized medicine make an impact on the lives of patients, said Dr. Frueh. I believe that Third Rocks approach to investing in cutting edge science has the potential to make a tremendous difference, and I look forward to being a part of that effort.

About Third Rock Ventures

Third Rock Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2007 with the mission to launch transformative life sciences companies. With more than $800 million and two funds under management, the firm is focused on working with passionate entrepreneurs to build exceptional companies working in areas of disruptive science that will make a difference in the lives of patients. The firm has assembled a team with deep expertise and a proven track record of building respected and successful life sciences companies. With decades of complementary, cross-functional operational and leadership experience, the Third Rock team actively engages with its portfolio companies to provide hands-on strategy and experience to successfully launch companies with the best vision, science, operations, people and culture. With offices in Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA, Third Rock is well positioned geographically to closely collaborate with its portfolio companies to achieve their goals. To learn more about Third Rock and its portfolio companies, please visit http://www.thirdrockventures.com.

Current Third Rock Portfolio Companies

Ablexis, Afferent Pharmaceuticals, Agios Pharmaceuticals, Alcresta, Allena Pharmaceuticals, Alnara Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Eli Lilly & Co. in 2010), bluebird bio, Blueprint Medicines, Constellation Pharmaceuticals, CytomX Therapeutics, DC Devices, Edimer Pharmaceuticals, Eleven Biotherapeutics, Ember Therapeutics, Foundation Medicine, Global Blood Therapeutics, Igenica, Kala Pharmaceuticals, Lotus Tissue Repair, MyoKardia, Nine Point Medical, PanOptica Pharmaceuticals, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, SAGE Therapeutics, Seventh Sense Biosystems, Taris Biomedical, Topica Pharmaceuticals, Warp Drive Bio and Zafgen.

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Third Rock Ventures Appoints Personalized Medicine Expert Felix W. Frueh, Ph.D., as Entrepreneur-in-Residence

DURHAM, N.C., Sept. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- GeneCentric, a molecular diagnostics company focused on personalized oncology today announced the appointment of Dr. Arnold Levine to the company's board of directors. Dr. Levine brings to GeneCentric a wealth of experience related to the life sciences, and status as a prominent inventor in the field of molecular biology.

"I am pleased to join the GeneCentric Board at this important time for both the company and personalized oncology," said Dr. Levine. "GeneCentric has brought together world leaders in cancer research and diagnostics. They have made tremendous progress in a very short amount of time to advance the development of novel, targeted assays that enable oncologists make more informed, individualized, therapy decisions."

Dr. Levine is a widely acclaimed leader in cancer research. In 1979, Levine and others discovered the p53 tumor suppressor protein, a molecule that inhibits tumor development. Dr. Levine previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Rockefeller University from 1998 to 2002 and was the Harry C. Weiss Professor of the Life Sciences and Chairman of the Molecular Biology Department at Princeton University from 1984 to 1998. He established the Simons Center for Systems Biology at the Institute for Advanced Study, which concentrates on research at the interface of molecular biology and the physical sciences: on genetics and genomics, polymorphisms and molecular aspects of evolution, signal transduction pathways and networks, stress responses, and pharmacogenomics in cancer biology.

"We are excited to have Dr. Levine join the GeneCentric board. HIs vast experience will help drive the GeneCentric scientific vision and strategy," said Clay Thorp, General Partner at Hatteras Venture Partners and Chairman of GeneCentric. "The addition of Dr. Levine further validates both the company's scientific and development strategies."

GeneCentric was co-founded in 2011 by two pioneers in cancer research, Drs. Charles Perou and Neil Hayes, who discovered molecular signatures critical in distinguishing clinically relevant subtypes of lung cancer. GeneCentric in-licensed from UNC-CH these technologies, known as the Lung Subtype Platform (LSP), and the Hypoxia Signature for diagnosing risk of cancer metastasis, and Hatteras Venture Partners provided the founding Series I financing. GeneCentric is led by Dr. Myla Lai-Goldman, former CMO & CSO of Laboratory Corporation of America, Holdings (LabCorp) and current Venture Partner at Hatteras Venture Partners.

About GeneCentric

GeneCentric Diagnostics, Inc, based in Durham, NC, is a molecular diagnostic company which develops and commercializes novel assays that enable oncologists and their patients make more informed treatment decisions. For more information, please visit: http://www.genecentric.com

Contact:

Myla Lai-Goldman myla@genecentric.com

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Dr. Arnold Levine Joins GeneCentric Board of Directors

MORRISVILLE, N.C., Sept. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Gentris Corporation (www.gentris.com), a global leader in pharmacogenomics and biorepository solutions, announced today the completion of a significant expansion to their Morrisville, N.C. facility. The first phase of the expansion included additional office space and a large, multipurpose conference room, which will accommodate scientific training and education programs. The second phase of construction tripled the available capacity of the clinical sample biorepository in order to meet future demand.

Gentris continues to invest in capabilities and capacity to address the growing personalized medicine market. As more pharmaceutical companies pursue biomarker-driven therapeutic strategies, there is a growing need to collect and store patient samples for analysis. The expanded biorepository will ensure sufficient capacity to accommodate the sample storage and management needs of pharmaceutical clients that are implementing pharmacogenomics in clinical trials. In addition to biorepository space, Gentris has added a large conference room to host scientific training and education programs that will focus on providing up-to-date information on best practices for integrating pharmacogenomics into drug development.

Eric Hall, Gentris VP of Clinical Operations and Biorepository Services, will be chairing a session on Strategic Specimen Tracking as part of the Biorepository track at the Clinical Business Expo 2012 in Boston on September 19-20.

Related Links: http://www.gentris.com

Quotes:

"As demand for clinical sample storage grows, we needed a larger, dedicated facility for sample management and biosrepository functions," said Eric Hall, Gentris VP of Clinical Operations and Biorepository. "Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly recognizing the value of banking clinical trial samples for immediate or future testing. By tripling the size of our biorepository space, we have increased our flexibility to manage and store a large number of diverse sample types and serve our rapidly expanding client base."

"We anticipate an increased need for biorepository and pharmacogenomics testing services as pharmaceutical companies invest in personalized medicine," said Scott Clark, Gentris Chief Scientific Officer. "The recent expansion will enable us to continue providing high quality solutions to our clients as well as to host training and education programs focused on maximizing the benefits of integrating pharmacogenomics and biobanking into clinical trials."

About Gentris Corporation:

Founded in 2001, Gentris is located in Research Triangle Park, NC, where it provides pharmacogenomics and biorepository support for all phases of clinical studies and genomic biomarker programs. The Company works with academic and industry leaders to translate innovations in pharmacogenomics into safer, more effective medicines, which can lead to accelerated drug development and improvement in patient care globally.

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Gentris Corporation Expands Headquarters, Biorepository

MORRISVILLE, N.C., July 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Gentris Corporation (www.gentris.com), a global leader in pharmacogenomics and biorepository solutions, announced today that it will begin a collaborative study with a major pharmaceutical company to test the long-term stability of DNA in whole blood samples that have been stored for five and ten years. This study will provide insight into the optimal, long-term storage of clinical samples to ensure adequate DNA integrity for future pharmacogenomics testing.

The three phase collaboration aims to investigate the effects of multiple freeze-thaw cycles on DNA from whole blood, both fresh and archived. In order to evaluate these effects, DNA will be extracted from archived whole blood samples after several freeze-thaw cycles and will undergo quantitative genotyping for specific genetic variations. Variants were chosen to evaluate both large and small deletions to assess DNA integrity. The results will be compared to genotyping data from the same samples before long-term storage and to similarly treated, freshly collected blood samples. A pharmaceutical partner will provide archived samples and the associated data. Gentris will provide freshly collected samples and perform the genotyping analysis.

The goal of this collaboration is to determine the impact of long term storage and multiple freeze-thaw cycles on the integrity of DNA from whole blood samples. With this data, Gentris will be able to determine whether archived samples would be best stored as whole blood or extracted DNA to ensure sufficient sample quality for future analysis. Maintaining high-quality samples allows pharmaceutical companies to utilize these biospecimens as needed during the entire drug development process, which typically takes several years to complete.

Related Links: http://www.gentris.com

Quotes: "We look forward to collaborating with our pharmaceutical partner to investigate an important question as more companies establish long-term archives of clinical samples," said Eric Hall, Gentris Vice President of Clinical Operations and Biorepository Services. "Because technologies are improving rapidly and the drug development process is lengthy, pharmaceutical companies can gain significant value from reanalyzing samples in order to refine later phases of clinical trials or answer questions that arise during development. Proper handling and storage of samples is the foundation for driving innovation in pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine."

About Gentris Corporation: Founded in 2001, Gentris is located in Research Triangle Park, NC, where it provides pharmacogenomics and biorepository support for all phases of clinical studies and genomic biomarker programs. The Company works with academic and industry leaders to translate innovations in pharmacogenomics into safer, more effective medicines, which can lead to accelerated drug development and improvement in patient care globally. In the past year, Gentris significantly expanded its facility and onsite biorepository to meet the increased needs of biopharma clients, while maintaining a preeminent quality system.

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Gentris Corporation Announces Collaboration to Study Blood Stability