Governor Cuomo Announces Continued Growth at Roswell Park Cancer
Institute with Regional Economic Development Council Funding; RPCI
Center for Personalized Medicine established with CTG (NASDAQ:
CTGX) serving as its technology partner
ALBANY, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Governor Cuomo
announced yesterday that a strategic biotechnology project in
Western New York, initially funded
through the Regional Economic Development Councils, is expanding
successfully, leveraging additional private investments for further
growth and strengthening the regional economy. The Center for
Personalized Medicine (CPM), an extension of Roswell Park Cancer
Institute (RPCI), has leveraged $18.5
million in additional investments from an initial State
investment of $5.1 million. The new
Center treats cancer patients with personalized medical care and
also creates a resource that scientists and medical providers can
use for applications across the spectrum of clinical care, to the
benefit of healthcare consumers all over the United States.
"New York State has proved
today that recognizing and investing in each region's unique
resources and strengths leads us to economic growth," Governor
Cuomo said. "Western New York has
a thriving health and life sciences industry cluster, which the
Western New York Regional Economic Development Council and Roswell
Park Cancer Institute recognized. Through the Regional Council
process, they created a custom-tailored plan to take advantage of
this opportunity, which will rebuild the regional economy."
Roswell Park Cancer Institute received $5.1 million in State assistance for this project
through the Western New York Regional Council in December 2011. A centerpiece of the Governor's
strategy to jumpstart the economy and create jobs, Regional
Economic Development Councils were put in place in 2011 to redesign
the state's approach to economic development from a top-down model
to a community-based, performance-driven approach. The initiative
empowers community, business, and academic leaders, as well as
members of the public in each region of the state, to develop
strategic plans specifically tailored to their region's unique
strengths and resources in order to create jobs and support
economic growth.
Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy,
Chair of the Regional Economic Development Councils said, "I
commend the members of the Western New York Regional Economic
Development Council for their countless hours and dedication in
determining what strategies fit this region best. Together with
Governor Cuomo, we have traveled to every region of the state to
discuss these plans with local communities and now we are
witnessing the incredible results of job creation and economic
growth. I congratulate Roswell Park Cancer Institute for its
success and look forward to continued statewide Regional Economic
Development Council progress and future life science
initiatives."
The new Center in Buffalo represents the region's first resource
for next-generation gene sequencing to meet federal Clinical
Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) standards. In addition to
the $5.1 million received from the
State, RPCI has invested $16 million
in equipment and infrastructure. Computer Task Group, a national
leader in healthcare information technology, has pledged another
$2.5 million toward the Center.
Additional collaborators include the University at Buffalo, IMMCO Diagnostics and
Western New York Urology Associates LLC.
The combination of high-throughput and personal gene sequencers
in the Center, along with its dedicated 1,600-processor
supercomputing cluster, will allow RPCI and its collaborators to
analyze individual genomes — a person's unique genetic code,
representing the full set of DNA that we inherit from our parents —
shedding light on key factors that drive medical care.
"We now have the ability to do robust, 'next-generation' gene
sequencing on blood and tissue samples, with tremendous
possibilities in terms of what we can learn diagnostically,
prognostically, therapeutically," says Candace Johnson, PhD, Deputy Director of Roswell
Park and co-leader of three recently launched clinical research
studies that rely on CPM resources. "This is the future of medicine
— across all diseases, not just in oncology."
CTG (NASDAQ: CTGX), a Buffalo-based company that is one of the
largest U.S. healthcare IT companies and has developed leading
bioinformatics computing and software, has played a major role in
the development of the CPM, providing significant strategic
direction and intending to contribute $2.5
million toward its development. Over the last 25 years, CTG
has provided healthcare IT, operational and strategic consulting
support to over 600 healthcare organizations. CTG employs nearly
400 of its 3,800 employees in Western New
York.
"We needed a technology partner with healthcare and
bioinformatics expertise that could guide us from the concept
stage, when we were mapping out how to best put these new
informatics technologies to work, to the implementation stage,
getting us to the position where we are able to deliver
personalized medicine quickly and cost-effectively. And were
fortunate to find a resource in CTG that brought all those
strengths and also happened to be located just a few blocks away,"
says Donald L. Trump, MD, Roswell
Park President and CEO.
"CTG has a longstanding relationship with Roswell Park, and
great respect for their innovation in cancer research and care. As
one of the nation's leading comprehensive cancer centers, Roswell
Park is uniquely positioned to leverage its genomics assets and
expertise to be at the forefront of the advancement and delivery of
personalized medicine. CTG is very proud to be providing EMR
expertise, bioinformatics, and clinical analytics to Roswell Park's
genomics initiative to enable delivery of the highest level of
personalized care for cancer patients in a clinical environment,"
said CTG Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James R. Boldt.
The Center's first sequencing projects represent a three-pronged
translational research initiative. RPCI has launched clinical
research studies that set out to:
- Predict on a case-by-case, personalized basis which of the two
main types of standard chemotherapy, anthracycline-based or
platinum-based, will be most effective in treating a woman's breast
cancer, and with fewest adverse side effects;
- Develop, in collaboration with Western New York Urology
Associates, a diagnostic test for superficial bladder cancer, the
ninth most common cancer in the U.S. and the most expensive of all
cancers in terms of cost to treat; and
- Engage 600 healthy volunteers representing the ethnic, racial,
socioeconomic and geographic diversity of the eight-county
Western New York region in an
initiative to identify the particular healthcare priorities of this
community, aided by a mobile tissue-collection unit that will
travel to disparate and underserved areas.
- In addition, RPCI expects to use the resources of the CPM in
planning individualized care for its lung, melanoma and leukemia
patients in the near future.
"The work we're doing now at the CPM will translate into
personalized, evidence-based therapies in a matter of months," says
CPM Executive Director Carl
Morrison, MD, DVM, Clinical Chief of the Department of
Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and Director of the Division of
Molecular Pathology at RPCI. "Our goal is to bring next-generation
sequencing technology to frontline care at Roswell Park with a new
portfolio of personal genome assays."
"We now have the infrastructure in place to offer robust
sequencing both quickly and cost-effectively. Those resources,
paired with the subject-matter expertise that Dr. Morrison's
outstanding team and partners like CTG add to our menu of services,
allow us to compete among the small circle of healthcare
institutions that have these capabilities," notes Dr. Trump. "The
doors are wide open in terms of the opportunities for
entrepreneurship and technology transfer that will flow from
here."
Senator Timothy Kennedy said,
"Roswell Park has long been at the cutting edge of medical
advancements in cancer treatment. This strategic
investment will not only spur local economic activity, it will
also help strengthen Roswell's position as a national leader
in cancer research and patient care. The Regional Councils
have proven to be vital tools contributing to each region's
success. I commend Governor Cuomo for creating these councils,
and for the hard work of all the participants to expand this
industry in Buffalo."
Assemblywoman Crystal
Peoples-Stokes said, "Our Regional Economic Development
Council has worked tirelessly to attract business and promote
economic growth within the entire region. I congratulate both the
council and Roswell Park Cancer Institute for providing much needed
revitalization to our community, and applaud Governor Cuomo and
Lieutenant Governor Duffy for their hard work and leadership in
making this a reality."
Assemblyman Sean Ryan said, "This
is excellent news for Erie County.
By expanding Roswell Park Cancer Institute, we will not only
provide job opportunities for Western New Yorkers, but will also
contribute to the overall economic growth of the region. This is
another great example of how New York
State is supporting creativity and innovation in order to
bring jobs to every community in the state, and I thank Governor
Cuomo for his commitment to all New Yorkers."
Assemblyman Robin Schimminger
said, "The expansion of Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is critical to building Erie County's economic future. The positive
changes that have resulted from the hard work and dedication of the
Western New York Regional Economic Development Council are evident
today. The level of progress that has been made thus far is both
impressive and encouraging to our region's economic upturn. I thank
Governor Cuomo for spearheading this initiative and Lieutenant
Governor Duffy for leading these hard working teams."
"I am proud to be a part of this announcement that will allow
patients who come to Roswell Park Cancer Institute to have
customized medical care and the resources necessary for more
effective treatment," said Senator Mark
Grisanti. "I applaud the hard work of WNY Regional Economic
Development Council Co-Chairs Satish K. Tripathi, and Howard A. Zemsky along with Governor
Andrew Cuomo for their
leadership."
County Executive Mark Poloncarz
said, "The Center for Personalized Medicine at Roswell Park Cancer
Institute represents another step forward in health care here in
Erie County, and will result in
cancer patients getting individualized medical attention and care.
I commend RPCI and Empire State Development for their vision in
accomplishing this, and look forward to working with our partners
in government and health care to continue to provide high-quality
care such as this."
CTG develops innovative IT solutions to address the business
needs and challenges of companies in several higher-growth
industries including healthcare, energy, and technology services.
As a leading provider of IT and business consulting solutions to
the healthcare market, CTG offers hospitals, physician groups, and
regional health information exchanges a full range of electronic
medical record services. Additionally, CTG has developed for the
healthcare provider and payer markets unique, proprietary medical
management and claims analytics software solutions that support
better and lower cost healthcare. CTG also provides managed
services IT staffing for major technology companies and large
corporations. Backed by over 45 years' experience, proprietary
methodologies, and an ISO 9001-certified management system, CTG has
a proven track record of delivering high-value, industry-specific
solutions. CTG generated revenue of $396
million in 2011 and operates in North America and Western Europe. CTG posts news and other
important information on the Web at www.ctg.com.
The mission of Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) is to
understand, prevent and cure cancer. RPCI, founded in 1898, was one
of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National
Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains
the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The
Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive
Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation's leading cancer centers;
maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and
international collaborative programs. For more information, visit
RPCI's website at http://www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI
(1-877-275-7724) or email askrpci@roswellpark.org.
NOTE TO EDITORS: A version of this press release was
issued January 30, 2013, by the
Office of New York State Governor
Andrew M. Cuomo.
SOURCE Roswell Park Cancer Institute; CTG