FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J.,
Nov. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Living
to 100 years old is a remarkable feat in itself, but now a group of
100 centenarians has the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy that
could radically change medical care for generations to come.
The X PRIZE Foundation and Medco Health Solutions, Inc.
(NYSE: MHS) are searching for the Medco 100 Over 100 - a
group of 100 vital centenarians (100 years or older) whose genomes
could unlock the secrets of healthy aging and usher in a new era of
personalized medicine.
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These "genomic pioneers" will allow their DNA to serve as the
basis for the $10 million Archon
Genomics X PRIZE presented by Medco. World-class teams
will compete to rapidly, accurately and economically sequence the
genomes of the Medco 100 Over 100, affording an unprecedented
opportunity to identify those "rare genes" that protect against
disease, which may provide valuable clues to health and longevity.
"The Medco 100 Over 100 will represent a very special group of
people who have lived an unusually long life and somehow beaten the
odds against the common diseases of aging that substantially impact
quality of life and longevity," said Dr. Felix Frueh, President of the Medco Research
Institute®. "Discovering what important factors make them different
from the rest of us could lead to important advances in prevention
and treatment of disease - that's quite a significant gift to give
by participating in this research effort."
Each team will sequence the genomes of the Medco 100 Over 100 –
the equivalent of 10,000+ years of life. This genomic data will
become the most deeply sequenced set of human genomes ever
assembled and define for the first time a "medical grade" genome,
empowering scientists around the world to revolutionize medicine
through an open source database. A lasting result of this
competition will be a new clinical standard for genomics.
"This is a critical advancement needed to transform genomic
research into practical clinical care; promoting disease
prevention, improving medical outcomes and driving down healthcare
costs," commented Grant Campany,
Senior Director of the Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by
Medco.
At the recent launch of the Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by
Medco at the New York Academy of Medicine, 107-year-old
George Eberhardt became the first
centenarian nominated into the Medco 100 Over 100. The
long-lived New Jersey resident had
a career in engineering spanning 81 years, first with Bell Labs and then at Drew
University from which he retired in 2005 at age 101. While
Eberhardt attributes his longevity to his wife of 70 years Marie,
keeping his mind and body active may have helped as well. He played
tennis until he was 94 and still takes daily rides on his
stationary bike. Eberhardt signed on as a member of the Medco
100 Over 100 because of his interest in the science behind this
competition and his desire to know why he and other centenarians
have been able to beat the odds against the common diseases of
aging. Click here for more from Eberhardt.
The Search
The Search for the Medco 100 Over 100 will span the globe
looking for centenarians and supercentenarians (age 110 and older)
to participate in this historic effort. Anyone 100 years or
older, who is cognizant, currently without any serious disease and
is willing to share their story can be nominated to join the Medco
100 Over 100. While good health will be an important
criterion for selection, special consideration will be given to
supercentenarians, whose extreme longevity challenges the normal
notions of aging. Centenarian nominations can be submitted at
www.genomics.xprize.org/medco-100-over-100 and will be accepted
through January 6, 2012.
The selection process will be conducted by the New England
Centenarian Project at Boston
University Medical Center, led by Thomas Perls, MD, MPH, associate professor of
Medicine and Geriatrics. Centenarians interested must be willing to
provide their medical and medication histories, as well as a signed
informed consent.
Centenarian Facts
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were approximately
53,300 centenarians living in America in 2010; that number is
expected to top one million by 2050. About 83 percent of
centenarians are women and 17 percent are men. The states
with the highest number of resident centenarians are California, Florida, New
York, Texas and
Illinois. Supercentenarians,
those 110 years or older are far rarer, with only 330 recorded
living in the U.S. last year. There is approximately one
supercentenarian for every seven million people worldwide.
Research has revealed the following characteristics among
centenarians:
- Obesity and substantial cigarette smoking are rare
- Centenarians appear to be better able to handle stress than the
average person
- Many female centenarians have their first child at a later age,
usually at 35 or older
- At least 50 percent of centenarians have first-degree relatives
and/or grandparents who also achieve very old age, and many have
exceptionally old siblings
Precision Medicine
Medco has been making medicine smarter by making it personal for
nearly a decade. Studies conducted by the Medco Research
Institute have paved the way for genetic testing programs that are
becoming a part of routine pharmacy practice for millions of
patients through DNA Direct by Medco. In addition, United
BioSource Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Medco, is working
with pharmaceutical manufacturers and life science companies
worldwide to develop authoritative, real-world evidence about
product effectiveness, safety and value to assist healthcare
decisions and personalize patient care.
About the Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by
Medco®
Conceived by Dr. Craig Venter,
the $10 million Archon Genomics X
PRIZE presented by Medco is designed to usher in a new era of
personalized medicine, revolutionizing the industry and challenging
scientists to design rapid, inexpensive and accurate whole human
genome sequencing technologies. This competition is
generously sponsored by title sponsors, Dr. Stewart and Marilyn Blusson. To learn more,
visit www.genomics.xprize.org.
About X PRIZE Foundation
Founded in 1995, the X PRIZE Foundation, a (501(c)(3)
nonprofit, is the leading organization solving the world's
Grand Challenges by creating and managing large-scale,
high-profile, incentivized prize competitions that stimulate
investment in research and development worth far more than the
prize itself. The organization motivates and inspires
brilliant innovators from all disciplines to leverage their
intellectual and financial capital for the benefit of
humanity. The X PRIZE Foundation conducts competitions in
four Prize Groups: Education & Global Development; Energy &
Environment; Life Sciences; and Exploration. Prizes won include the
$10 million Ansari X PRIZE for private, suborbital space flight;
the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE for
creating safe, affordable, production-capable vehicles that exceed
100 MPG energy equivalent (MPGe); the $2 million Northrop Grumman
Lunar Lander X CHALLENGE for advanced rocket development; and the
$1.4 million Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE for highly
effective ocean surface oil spill cleanup methods. Active prizes
include the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE and the $10 million
Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by Medco. For more
information, go to www.xprize.org.
About Medco
Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MHS) is pioneering the
world's most advanced pharmacy® and its clinical research and
innovations are part of Medco making medicine smarter™ for
approximately 65 million members.
With more than 20,000 employees worldwide dedicated to improving
patient health and reducing costs for a wide range of public and
private sector clients, and 2010 revenues of nearly $66 billion, Medco ranks 35th on the Fortune 500
list and is named among the world's most innovative, most admired
and most trustworthy companies.
For more information, go to http://www.medcohealth.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that
term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may
cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the
statements. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and
actual results may differ materially from those projected. We
undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events,
or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this press release
should be evaluated together with the risks and uncertainties that
affect our business, particularly those mentioned in the Risk
Factors section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Medco Health Solutions, Inc.