Grand Rapids, Mich.
(Nov. 10, 2011) – Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) and Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital today announced participation in a Dell, Inc.-funded national initiative based on technology developed by VARI and tested in collaboration with Spectrum Health.
The local impact comes on the heels of Dell announcing a major commitment of funding, employee engagement and cloud computing technology to support pediatric cancer research programs globally, including the world’s first FDA-approved personalized medicine trial for pediatric cancer conducted by the Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma Translational Research Consortium (NMTRC). The NMTRC is headquartered at Van Andel Research Institute (VARI), includes Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital as a member organization, and is supported by VARI’s affiliate, the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).
Neuroblastoma strikes one in 100,000 children annually, usually before the age of 5, and despite being rare, it is so lethal that it is responsible for one in seven pediatric cancer deaths. It is the unique and aggressive nature of neuroblastoma that renders conventional approaches ineffective in many children. With little commercially or federally funded research underway because of the relatively small patient base, parents and pediatric oncologists have relied largely on “trial and error” approaches in their search for a treatment that will work from among the hundreds of available cancer drug trials.
Personalized treatment underway
In May 2011, VARI officials announced the creation of the VARI Pediatric Cancer Translational Research Program, which included the key appointment of Giselle Sholler M.D., a pediatric oncologist and researcher specializing in the treatment of neuroblastoma, and chair of the NMTRC.
Also in May, the NMTRC, VARI and TGen teamed to launch the first FDA-approved personalized medicine trial for pediatric cancer. (http://www.nmtrc.org/).
“The NMTRC clinical trial offers hope to those children facing what is among the worst of all pediatric cancers,” said Dr. Sholler. “We are confident the genomic-based personalized medicine approach is the right one, and Dell’s contribution will help remove barriers that currently exist in how rapidly and easily we can analyze and share information to benefit our patients.”
The trial, funded to this point primarily by parents of children with neuroblastoma and their family foundations, is based on West Michigan research stretching back at least five years including researchers, patients, and physicians from VARI and Spectrum Health.
“The generous support of Dell for the NMTRC’s ongoing pediatric neuroblastoma clinical trial is the next phase in a five-year process that began with a proof of concept trial that included 14 pediatric patients at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in 2006,” said VARI’s Head of the Laboratory of Translational Research Craig P. Webb, Ph.D., who co-directs VARI’s Pediatric Cancer Translational Research Program with Dr. Sholler.
The culmination of a five-year, multi-site process
In June 2006, a phase I protocol was launched by Spectrum Health and VARI to recruit up to 50 late stage adult and pediatric cancer patients under the research direction of Dr. Webb and the clinical direction of Timothy J. O’Rourke, M.D. and Deanna Mitchell, M.D. Dr. O’Rourke is a Cancer and Hematology Centers of West Michigan physician and the Betz Family Endowed Chair for Cancer Research at Spectrum Health and Dr. Mitchell is a Spectrum Health Medical Group pediatric hematologist/oncologist who practices at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. The results of the “proof of concept” trial were anecdotal but encouraging, and allowed the team to develop the processes required for real time personalized medicine trials.
“The ability to analyze the gene expression of specific tumor cells and target our therapy as directly as possible to the malignant cells is one of the most exciting developments in oncologic molecular medicine,” said Dr. Mitchell, principle investigator for NMTRC at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. “Anecdotal evidence from the phase I trial identified therapeutic agents, which otherwise would not have been recognized as reasonable or feasible for specific patient's cancers.”
“The protocol illustrated the true meaning of precision medicine, in which experts from multiple disciplines converge as a dedicated team to integrate clinical expertise with unprecedented advances in knowledge and technologies towards achieving our common goal of improving patient outcomes,” said Dr. Webb. “We are now applying that same approach, on a larger scale, to targeted pediatric populations through this Dell-funded project.”
The project is also receiving in-kind support from Grand Rapids-based Intervention Insights, the Medical Mile’s first life science firm devoted to developing treatments based on Dr. Webb’s personalized medicine technology.
Dell expanding its Powering the Possible program
The expansion of Dell’s Powering the Possible program to focus on neuroblastoma and other pediatric cancers is due to the devastating nature of the disease and to address the void of new and innovative treatments available for children. Since the 1980s, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved only one new treatment for any type of childhood cancer, compared with 50 approved treatments for adult cancers in the same time period. Through Powering the Possible, Dell is making a multi-year, multi-million dollar commitment of funds and employee volunteerism to support innovative pediatric treatment programs globally.
Dell-donated cloud gives TGen and NMTRC power to do more for pediatric cancer
Dell’s donated cloud solution will provide needed computing power to help increase TGen’s gene sequencing and analysis capacity by 1,200 percent and improve collaboration between the team of physicians, genetic researchers, pharmacists and computer scientists working on the trial. Specifically, scientists and physicians will use the donated cloud to investigate new technologies that accelerate genetic analysis and identification of targeted treatments for each patient from months to days. The additional computing power will also improve the availability of critical information and allow researchers to develop a real-time knowledge repository of the latest findings on the most effective treatments for oncologists to use globally. The researchers also intend to use the donated cloud to expand the program’s participation from a handful of children today to hundreds of children over the next three years, with the goal of establishing an information framework that, subject to regulatory approval, could one day help thousands of pediatric cancer patients. The new TGen cloud will also facilitate rapid transfer of information to international partners and lay the groundwork for expansion of the trial to additional types of childhood cancers in the future.
Additional Information:
@DellHealth on Twitter
Dell Powering the Possible
NMTRC.org
NMTRC Participating Hospitals
Beatnb.org
Virtual Press Kit
www.vai.org
www.helendevoschildrens.org
Additional Quotes
“Even at this earliest moment in genomics-guided therapy, there is universal recognition that the amount and complexity of data is overwhelming,” said Jeffrey M. Trent, Ph.D., president and research director of TGen and VARI. “Dell's commitment to helping children with cancer, coupled with its expertise in developing cloud-based solutions for health information, will provide great benefit in terms of helping us manage the massively complex data generated by this clinical trial. This will help physicians and scientists share information rapidly, and is designed to help us arrive at the optimal treatment decision for each child battling cancer.”
“For far too long, children with pediatric cancer have relied on the hand- me-down adult cancer treatments which are brutally harsh and, in many cases, more punitive than curative for children. We’ve given them to kids because something is better than nothing,” said Patrick Lacey, co-founder and president of Friends of Will Cancer Foundation. “And now, thanks to innovative doctors and Dell’s incredible support, kids will finally get a chance at treatment designed to improve their lives and survival. They don’t have to settle for brutal and ineffective therapy as status quo any longer and they have a chance to trail blaze the way to more effective and less toxic therapy for everyone with cancer.”
"I applaud Dell's commitment toward filling a great void in the development of specialized treatments for childhood cancers. Childhood cancer is the leading disease killer of American children. Because of the orphan nature of these diseases and the high cost of drug development for them, it’s been difficult for the pharmaceutical industry to develop treatments,” said Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), founder and co-chair of the Congressional Childhood Cancer Caucus, who recently introduced legislation to incentivize the pharmaceutical industry to develop such treatments. This is the kind of private endeavor that is needed to save and improve the lives of so many children."
“It’s time to do more for the children and families battling pediatric cancer,” said Paul Bell, president of Dell Public and Large Enterprise and chairman of Dell’s Strategic Giving Council. “And pediatric cancer is an area where Dell can address an unmet medical need and our people and technology can make an immediate and lasting difference. We hope TGen’s new cloud will help pediatric oncologists develop new ways to eliminate the trial and error in the treatment for pediatric cancer patients for whom every day matters.”
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About Dell
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services that give them the power to do more. Dell’s Powering the Possible program is funded by the company’s pledge to contribute 1 percent of its pre-tax profits to learning, pediatric cancer, innovative social entrepreneurship and disaster relief initiatives that address unmet needs globally and enable human potential. Information about Dell Powering the Possible is available at http://content.dell.com/us/en/corp/d/campaigns/dell-healthcare-giving.aspx. As the leading provider of healthcare IT services in the world, Dell helps healthcare organizations harness the power of information to simplify administration; coordinate and manage patient care; transition from episodic care to prevention and wellness management and ultimately to deliver personalized medicine.
About Van Andel Institute
Established by Jay and Betty Van Andel in 1996, Van Andel Institute (VAI) is an independent research and educational organization based in Grand Rapids, Mich., dedicated to preserving, enhancing and expanding the frontiers of medical science, and to achieving excellence in education by probing fundamental issues of education and the learning process. VARI, the research arm of VAI, is dedicated to probing the genetic, cellular and molecular origins of cancer, Parkinson and other diseases and working to translate those findings into effective therapies. This is accomplished through the work of over 200 researchers in 18 on-site laboratories and in collaborative partnerships that span the globe. VARI is affiliated with the Translational Genomics Research Institute, (TGen), of Phoenix, Arizona.
About TGen
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research for life changing results. Research at TGen is focused on helping patients with diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders and diabetes. TGen is on the cutting edge of translational research where investigators are able to unravel the genetic components of common and complex diseases. Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical communities, TGen believes it can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency and effectiveness of the translational process. TGen is affiliated with the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For more information, visit: www.tgen.org.
About Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital
Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, a member of Spectrum Health, is a Grand Rapids-based hospital serving children throughout Michigan. A teaching hospital, it includes nearly 200 pediatric physicians with training in providing medical and surgical care to children in more than 40 pediatric specialties. Visit helendevoschildrens.org to learn more.
About the Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma Translational Research Consortium
Founded in 2008, the NMTRC is a nationwide network of childhood cancer trials based at the Van Andel Research Institute and chaired by Dr. Giselle Sholler. The consortium includes the following clinical partners: Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center; Saint Louis University School of Medicine; Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders; Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children; MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando; Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics; Connecticut Children’s Medical Center; Doernbecher Children’s Hospital; Oregon Health & Science University; Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital; Levine Children’s Hospital; Medical University of South Carolina; National Cancer Institute; Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego; UCSD School of Medicine and the University of Hawaii Cancer Center.
