| Dear Friend: We are pleased to provide you with an MMRC Update. This monthly briefing was created to keep you informed of the MMRC's progress toward its ultimate goal of accelerating drug development and improving patient outcomes in multiple myeloma. We hope that you find this newsletter informative and we welcome any feedback you may have. For more information, contact us at info@themmrc.org |
On August 17, the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) launched with a press release communicating that it had achieved its initial milestones: 1) the signing of all membership agreements by the MMRC's four Member Institutions 2) the signing of IT systems contracts for the MMRC Tissue Bank and MMRC Data Bank and 3) the initiation of the MMRC's first project. We are pleased to report that the Consortium's launch was featured in todays edition of The New York Times. Click here to read the article.
In conjunction with the Consortium's launch, the MMRC's comprehensive website www.themmrc.org is now live. You can visit our website by clicking here.
The MMRC is proud to have partnered with IBM Life Sciences and First Genetic Trust in the development of the MMRC Tissue Bank and Data Bank. The MMRC sets its Tissue Bank apart from all others by requiring that all samples are collected, analyzed, and stored in adherence with government-regulated Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) standards. To ensure that all MMRC efforts are GLP compliant, nearly 50 standard operating procedures governing the processing and handling of the tissue have been developed for use by all member institutions.
MMRC Holds Roundtable with Industry
The MMRC was pleased to have our partners from the pharmaceutical and biotech industries join us at the July meeting of the Consortium's Leadership Team in Chicago, Ill. Those in attendance included Amgen, Celgene Corp., Chiron Corp., Genentech, Inc., Infinity Pharmaceuticals, and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Industry representatives provided the MMRC with valuable input on how the MMRC can ensure that it is the come-to place for pharmaceutical companies and biotech firms. As a result of this meeting, task forces have been identified to continue our focus on the following: 1) tissue accrual 2) the development preclinical and clinical resources 3) expedited contract negotiations with partners.
