Tag: partnership

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Jasco Pharmaceuticals Join Forces to Advance Drug Research

by BNMCin Homepage, Member Institution(s), News6 Comments on Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Jasco Pharmaceuticals Join Forces to Advance Drug Research

Organizations partner on preclinical testing of agent that has shown promise against solid tumors, blood cancers

A new partnership, first of its kind for both organizations, will see Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) and Jasco Pharmaceuticals, LLC collaborating to advance development of an investigational pharmacological therapy that shows promise for treating both solid-tumor cancers and hematologic malignancies. The affiliation will see RPCI providing preclinical research infrastructure and services to fast-track development of Jasco’s lead agent and speed its progression to the clinical-trial phase.

That agent, JP_11646, is a PIM inhibitor that targets a class of kinase enzymes that help to regulate cancer cell survival. In preclinical studies, JP_11646 has shown activity against solid tumors including breast, colon, liver, lung and pancreas cancers as well as multiple myeloma.

Through this partnership, Jasco, which operates from Woburn, Mass., and has its headquarters in Rochester, N.Y., and RPCI will jointly pursue further preclinical development of the agent, including pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) analysis to define its efficacy, its toxicity and how cells respond to it. The project is the first to take advantage of the Center for Drug Development at RPCI, a new program uniting Institute resources that previously operated separately.

Kelvin Lee, MD, Jacobs Family Chair in Immunology and Co-Leader of the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Program at Roswell Park, will lead a study into the role PIM kinases play in CD28 signaling pathways, a survival mechanism that is a major cause of resistance to frontline multiple myeloma treatments.

“This collaboration brings Jasco’s unique kinase inhibitor platform together with Roswell Park’s comprehensive expertise in the development of novel therapies for oncology and the treatment of patients,” says Jasco Pharmaceuticals CEO Eugene Baldino. “It’s a great fit, and one that I know will reduce the development timeline of this promising agent, making it available to patients sooner.”

“Our goal is to get the therapy to cancer patients through a phase I clinical study within one year,” notes Alex Adjei, MD, PhD, FACP, Senior Vice President for Clinical Research and Director of the Center for Drug Development at RPCI, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s inaugural Conquer Cancer Foundation Drug Development Professor. “It’s an ambitious but totally realistic goal given the resources for preclinical and clinical research that exist at RPCI and the tremendous progress Jasco has made on this agent so far.”

Annie Deck-Miller, RPCI Senior Media Relations Manager; annie.deck-miller@roswellpark.org; 716.845.859

WCHOB and RPCI Partner to Create New Pediatric Hematology Oncology Center

by BNMCin Health care, Member Institution(s), News9 Comments on WCHOB and RPCI Partner to Create New Pediatric Hematology Oncology Center

Continuing efforts to create a multifaceted children’s hospital, Kaleida Health‘s Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo (WCHOB) and Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) have partnered to build a pediatric hematology oncology center in the new John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital.
Signing a memorandum of understanding to plan the new center today, the WCHOB and RPCI have begun the planning process for this physician-led initiative to combine their services, creating a single center of excellence for pediatric inpatient/outpatient care. The proposed Center will incorporate inpatient beds, an outpatient clinic, isolation beds for blood and bone marrow transplant/high-dose therapy patients, and infusion facilities for chemotherapy and blood products, all in a protected environment on the top floor of the new hospital.

Both institutions are two of the most prominent healthcare institutions in WNY, providing pediatric hematology-oncology services for more than forty years. Currently, WCHOB provides specialty pediatric services essential to the care of these children including surgery, anesthesia, intensive care, and diagnostic imaging. RPCI provides oncology clinical leadership and services including radiation therapy, certain highly-specialized diagnostic services, blood and marrow transplants and clinical trials. RPCI is expected hold a long-term lease for the Center and will be responsible for its medical direction. The planned Center will continue to capitalize on the unique expertise of both institutions.

“This partnership between the two organizations is an excellent example of the many opportunities the new John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is granting,” said Teresa Quattrin, MD, Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Professor of Pediatrics, SUNY at Buffalo, and Pediatrician-in-Chief, Chief, Division of Endocrinology-Diabetes, Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo. “We look forward to continuing to create this integrated Hematology & Oncology Unit to further enhance the care provided to patients and their families throughout Western New York and beyond.”

WCHOB is submitting its Certificate of Need wp-contentlication for the new hospital to the New York State Department of Health on November 2nd. RPCI anticipates to submit the Certificate of Need for the Pediatric Hematology Oncology Center by the end of the year.

“Each institution contributes unique expertise and services to children and young adults with cancer and blood disorders such as sickle cell disease, hemophilia and anemia. The new hospital presents a great opportunity to develop a true pediatric Center of Excellence,” said Martin L. Brecher, MD, Chair of Pediatrics at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Chief of Hematology Oncology at Women & Children’s Hospital and Chief of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology in the Department of Pediatrics at the University at Buffalo.

James R. Kaskie, President and CEO of Kaleida Health stated that “Together, and in conjunction with the University at Buffalo academic programs, we will jointly operate a center of excellence for children with cancer and blood diseases where expert clinical services are provided, innovative and pioneering research is advanced to find a cure and improve treatment options, and current and future health care professionals are trained and educated.”

“Management of cancer is best provided in facilities where hospital inpatient beds and outpatient facilities are in close proximity. The relocation of the children’s hospital to the medical campus provides the opportunity to pull together what have been two physically separate outpatient and inpatient units into a single, expanded service comprehensive facility to serve the needs of children of all ages with blood diseases and cancer,” said Donald L. Trump, MD, President and CEO of RPCI.

Each institution’s respective Board of Directors recognizes that the relocation of the WCHOB to the BNMC presents a unique opportunity to take an excellent pediatric hematology oncology program and make it extraordinary by bringing all the services together in a new state-of-the-art hospital. Philanthropic support for the hospital and for the pediatric hematology oncology center will be required to make the program consolidation a reality.

The 12-story, 430,000 sq. ft. John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital is scheduled to open in 2016.

BMG is the 1st Physician's Group Outside of Northeast Ohio to Join Quality Alliance

by BNMCin Homepage, Member Institution(s), News3 Comments on BMG is the 1st Physician's Group Outside of Northeast Ohio to Join Quality Alliance

As one of the oldest and largest multi-specialty physician groups in the state of New York, Buffalo Medical Group, P.C. is the first organization to join the Cleveland Clinic Community Physician Partnership’s Quality Alliance that is outside of northeast Ohio.
Improving the quality of care, the Quality Alliance program couples independent physicians with Cleveland Clinic physicians, aiming to implement thorough and reviewed best practices and evidence-based clinical protocols in order that the best possible care can be given to patients. Cleveland Clinic is an academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education.

The Cleveland Clinic Community Physician Partnership designed the network to bring about the improvement of the quality and consistency of clinical care; reduce costs and increase efficiency; and provide access to expertise, data and experience. The alliance meets these goals through physician-led review of patient care, physician-developed clinical protocols, mechanisms assuring adherence to those protocols, and common data collection and reports. With over 900 independent physician members, the Alliance is one of the third largest networks in the nation of its kind striving to standardize and improve the quality of care.

“Partnering with the Cleveland Clinic Community Physician Partnership and Quality Alliance is a logical extension of BMG’s commitment to providing exemplary care for our patients” said Irene S. Snow. M.D., Medical Director of the BMG.

Chief Medical Officer of Cleveland Clinic’s Community Physician Partnership & Quality Alliance, Tarek Elsawy, M.D., stated that “The Buffalo Medical Group is the right type of partner, as it has demonstrated through its highly engaged culture of quality and commitment to process improvement.”

BMG is committed to providing the best comprehensive care for patients, having achieved the highest level of recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance for Patient Centered Medical Home – the first health care provider in WNY to do so. BMG has also been recognized for its care for diabetes patients by the same committee. BMG adds more than 100 primary care, specialty care and sub-specialty physicians to the program.