US Oncology and Molecular Profiling Institute Enter Venture

US Oncology has entered into a venture with the Molecular Profiling Institute, Inc. to create the Tissue Banking and Analysis Center, Inc. (TBAC).

While continuing to serve a variety of research, pharmaceutical and diagnostic clients, TBAC will handle the large volume of bio-specimen collection and analytical services for US Oncology.

TBAC, in collaboration with US Oncology and AmeriPath will provide access to tissue samples, clinical trial design, biomarker development and esoteric testing under the guidance of top scientists from government and industry.

"We are very excited about this new venture with the Molecular Profiling Institute. The combined talents and expertise in our companies will significantly accelerate the clinical development of targeted therapies for cancer patients," said Dr. Atul Dhir, M.B. B.S., D.Phil., president of the Cancer Information Research Group for US Oncology and board member of TBAC.

"This venture will fill a huge unmet need in cancer drug development and over time, it will enable more personalized therapies and enable better treatment accuracy and outcomes for cancer patients across the nation."

The development of TBAC's large centralized tissue bank and analysis services allows for the standardized collection and analysis of a large repository of data, bio-specimens and clinical information that helps researchers improve the design of future cancer research studies and allow the selection of specific trial participants based on their molecular profile.

Fewer patients may be required to adequately test the efficacy of therapies and the result should be an acceleration of the research necessary to make personalized therapies a reality.

"As TBAC combines our first rate scientific knowledge, standardization, and efficiency of molecular analysis with the volume of patients and clinical trials conducted by the experienced research physicians affiliated with US Oncology, this new entity will actually speed the application of breakthrough science in a 'real world' treatment setting," says Dr. Robert Penny, chairman and CEO of Molecular Profiling.

Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, clinical director of the Translational Genomics Research Institute said, "The tools exist to target the treatment approach that works best for the genetic makeup of individual patient tumors, but those tools aren't currently available in many community care settings."

"Nor do individual academic medical centers have the volume of patients of a national network like US Oncology."

"This is a relationship that benefits both sides of the equation - enabling more personalized oncology treatment."

"This is the kind of approach that may lead to the identification of specific therapeutic fits for the most aggressive kind of cancers."

By pooling resources and information to combat cancer, TBAC also supports the US Food and Drug Administration's Critical Path Initiative.