Indivumed Announces an International Partnership With IMCB to Establish an Asian-Centric Multiomics Cancer Database for Personalized Oncology

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Dec 18, 2018, 05:21 ET

SINGAPORE and HAMBURG, Germany, Dec. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Indivumed GmbH today announced the launch of the "Cancer Library Initiative", an operation to further accelerate precision diagnostics and personalised treatment for cancer patients, in collaboration with A*STAR's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB).

According to the Singapore Cancer Registry Annual Registry Report 2015^[1] published by the National Registry of Diseases Office, cancer is the leading cause of death in Singapore (29.7%), with about 35 people diagnosed with cancer every day.

Through this initiative, Indivumed and IMCB aim to build an Asian-centric Cancer Database (ACD) which leverages Singapore's clinical network to achieve a truly integrated, comprehensive multiomic dataset containing rich clinical information of consenting patients. This data will be made available to scientists and clinicians in Singapore for academic and translational research.

The ACD will become an integral part of Indivumed's global cancer database "IndivuType" and is the first-of-its-kind, integrating multiomics data such as genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, precision proteomic, and digital histopathology data together with extensive clinical information. All data is derived from biospecimens collected under Indivumed's stringent proprietary SOPs, which are recognized by professionals as being the gold standard for sample collection. The application of those standards for tissue collection and processing ensure the preservation of the biological reality of the tumor and therefore the reliability of the multiomics analysis.

Indivumed's collaboration with IMCB builds on an agreement^[2] inked earlier this year between Indivumed and A*STAR's Research Support Centre, to perform proteomic and phosphoproteomic analysis of tissue samples from Indivumed's unique biobank.

The ACD will be populated with comprehensive proteogenomic profiling data obtained from consenting patients. Cutting-edge analytical technology together with bioinformatic and artificial intelligence solutions integrated in a portal IT solution, provide highly reliable information for researchers and clinicians.

"Indivumed's global access to biospecimens, as well as its professional standards for tissue collection, processing, and clinical data, provide unique opportunities to understand phenotypic effects in cancer patients," said Prof. Wanjin Hong, Executive Director of A*STAR's IMCB. "We are pleased to forge a strong clinical research partnership with Indivumed in Singapore and participate in building this global multiomics cancer database that contributes to better healthcare outcomes," he added.

Prof. Soo Yong Tan, leading pathologist and Principal Investigator of the Cancer Library Initiative, said: "We are delighted to partner with a global leader in personalised medicine who has the expertise to generate and analyse big molecular and clinical data from patients, and importantly also has established robust and scientifically-sound SOPs for tissue and clinical information collection. This collaboration enables us to unlock the wealth of tissue samples to obtain reliable, comprehensive data for the benefit of clinicians and researchers in Singapore."

Prof. Hartmut Juhl, Founder and CEO of Indivumed, added: "A*STAR's IMCB in Singapore is one of the world's leading research institutions, and Singapore represents a kind of "mini-Asia" adding important ethnical aspects to our global cancer database ʻIndivuTypeʼ. The outstanding scientific expertise and infrastructure of IMCB and the clinical expertise of Singapore clinics provide a unique opportunity to expand our global phenotypic cancer database, opening novel avenues and treatment modalities to fight this devastating malady."

About Indivumed GmbH

INDIVUMED an ISO-certified global oncology research company based in Hamburg, Germany, has established the world's leading Cancer Database and biobank, retaining unique patterns of biomolecules such as RNA, DNA, and proteins as they existed in the human body. This Cancer Database makes possible multi-omics capabilities that allows for characterization of samples and data such as whole genome gene expression analysis, expression analysis of cancer relevant proteins, expression analysis of cancer relevant phosphoproteins and bioinformatic solutions for integrating molecular, biological and clinical information.

Indivumed's data analytics capabilities allow for in-depth understanding of the underlying mechanisms of a patient's cancer, addressing important demands in translational research and molecular diagnostics to support implementation of personalized healthcare.

For more information see www.indivumed.com

About the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore's lead public sector agency that spearheads economic oriented research to advance scientific discovery and develop innovative technology. Through open innovation, we collaborate with our partners in both the public and private sectors to benefit society. A*STAR's R&D activities span biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering, with research entities primarily located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis.

A*STAR's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) has a vision of being a premier cell and molecular biology institute which addresses the mechanistic basis of human diseases and its mission is to conduct cutting-edge discovery research in disease pathways; to groom early career researchers to be future leaders in research; and to collaborate with medical and industry communities for research impact.

A*STAR's Research Support Centre (RSC) is a one-stop support centre for all biomedical R&D needs. RSC offers a diversified portfolio of scientific services which now includes more than 20 platforms.

For ongoing news, visit www.a-star.edu.sg .

^[1] Source: Singapore Cancer Registry Annual Registry Report 2015 by the National Registry of Diseases Office (NRDO) https://www.nrdo.gov.sg/docs/librariesprovider3/Publications-Cancer/cancer-registry-annual-report-2015_web.pdf?sfvrsn=10

^[2] Source: Indivumed Press Release https://www.indivumed.com/news-and-media/indivumed-signs-agreement-with-imcb-to-build-the-first-global-multiomics-cancer-database/

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