The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) announced that Bristol-Myers Squibb, New York, has joined its pre-competitive consortium to discover and accelerate new approaches to treating multiple myeloma through the organization’s Personalized Medicine Initiative (PMI).
“Multiple myeloma is the second most common blood cancer, and there remains a high unmet medical need for these patients,” said Joe Leveque, MD, VP of US oncology medical strategy at Bristol-Myers Squibb. The cornerstone of the PMI is the MMRF CoMMpass study, “Relating Clinical Outcomes in Multiple Myeloma to Personal Assessment of Genetic Profile,” which will follow 1,000 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients over 5 years to understand the molecular changes underpinning the progression of the disease. The study, which opened to enrollment in July 2011, has 50 active sites that have screened more than 200 patients to date.
Members of the PCC and several academic and non-profit entities provide scientific and financial support for the PMI.
[source: the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation]
