PORTLAND, Maine, and LEXINGTON, Mass., Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Maine Medical Center (MMC), a non-profit tertiary care hospital for the people of Maine and northern New England, announced today that it has adopted the Ardais(R) Corporation Biospecimen Management System for the collection and archiving of human biospecimens for research. Use of the Ardais system will enable MMC to collect biospecimens and associated clinical data for molecular- based clinical trials and to enter biomedical research collaborations in which MMC will conduct prospective biospecimen collections for researchers across the country. Adoption of the Ardais system will also enable MMC to participate in the growing network of medical institutions across the country that are collecting and sharing high quality biospecimens and clinical data in support of the advancement of molecular medicine.
“The conversion to the Ardais Biospecimen Management System is an exciting step for Maine Medical Center,” said Michael Jones, M.D., Chief of Pathology at Maine Medical Center. “The adoption of this system positions our institution squarely in the emerging field of molecular medicine, where diagnosis and treatment are based on disease origin and progression at the molecular level. This system provides us with the IT and logistical infrastructure to support the growing number of molecular-based clinical trials, while ensuring full privacy and confidentiality for our patient donors. We are very enthusiastic about our role in the development of a new generation of diagnostics and therapeutics based on the molecular origins of disease.”
The Ardais Biospecimen Management System is a suite of software applications, operating procedures, proprietary supplies, and data standards that integrate biorepository operations at one or multiple geographic sites. As the network of Ardais system users expands, resources are easily shared across organizations, while ensuring high quality biospecimens and data at all sites. For example, the Duke University Breast Cancer SPORE program is enhanced by the Ardais Biospecimen Management System, which provides complete support, starting with gaining consent from patient donors, to collecting clinical data, to archiving biospecimens, to distributing biospecimens to researchers.
Ardais and Maine Medical Center have been collaborators for several years. In 2001, Maine Medical Center joined the initial Ardais-led initiative of multiple hospitals conducting biospecimen collection for the Ardais centralized biorepository. As part of that collaboration, Maine Medical joined Ardais in a pioneering effort to set new standards for biospecimen and associated clinical data collection that have since been broadly adopted at many institutions.
“The collaboration between Maine Medical Center and Ardais has always been a forward-looking model in the biomedical field,” said Donald B. Hawthorne, President and CEO, Ardais Corporation. “Now that Ardais is shifting from operating its own centralized biorepository to providing our Biospecimen Management System as an IT-based solution for academic medical centers and pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies, we are very proud to continue working closely with them.”
About Ardais Corporation
Ardais Corporation addresses all the challenges of biospecimen management, allowing researchers to focus solely on the research discoveries and clinical developments that will advance molecular medicine. As a pioneer in best practices for this field, Ardais has developed an end-to-end solution that permits academic and commercial scientists and clinicians to standardize and organize their biospecimen collection, archiving, and access, thereby enhancing and accelerating research and clinical development.
The Ardais Biospecimen Management System, encompassing biological, informatics and engineering expertise, is a suite of software applications, operating procedures, proprietary supplies, and data standards that integrate clients’ biorepository operations at one or multiple geographic sites.
For more information, please visit: http://www.ardais.com/. Contacts: Donald B. Hawthorne Chief Executive Officer Ardais Corporation 781-698-0100 Wayne Clark Maine Medical Center 207-871-2196 clarkw@mmc.org Christine Mackenzie Feinstein Kean Healthcare 617-761-6737 christine.mackenzie@fkhealth.com
Ardais Corporation
CONTACT: Donald B. Hawthorne, Chief Executive Officer of ArdaisCorporation, +1-781-698-0100; or Wayne Clark of Maine Medical Center, +1-207-871-2196, clarkw@mmc.org; or Christine Mackenzie of Feinstein Kean Healthcare,+1-617-761-6737, christine.mackenzie@fkhealth.com
Web site: http://www.ardais.com/
