Four NCI Cancer Centers Announce Landmark Research Consortium And Collaborations With Celgene

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, The Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, The Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Medical Center, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, and The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai announced the establishment of a research consortium focused on accelerating the discovery and development of novel cancer therapeutics and diagnostics for the benefit of patients.

“We are extremely proud of what we’ve collectively accomplished through establishing this collaboration and aligning all participants”

The consortium aligns four major academic institutions in a unified partnership with the shared goal of creating high-impact research programs to discover new treatments for cancer. The magnitude of the multi-institutional consortium and agreements between Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) and each institution will support the rapid delivery of disease-altering programs to the clinic that may ultimately benefit cancer patients, global healthcare systems and society.

Subsequent to establishing the consortium, Celgene entered into four public-private collaboration agreements in which it paid a total of $50 million, $12.5 million to each institution, for the option to enter into future agreements to develop and commercialize novel cancer therapeutics arising from the consortium’s efforts. Over the next ten years the institutions intend to present multiple high-impact research programs to Celgene with the goal of developing new life-saving therapeutics. Subject to Celgene’s decision to opt-in and license the resulting technologies, each program has the potential to be valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.

The four cancer center directors, Steven Burakoff, M.D., of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Stephen G. Emerson, M.D., Ph.D., of Columbia University, William Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins University and Chi Van Dang, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, said in a shared statement, “The active and coordinated engagement, creative thinking and unique perspectives and expertise of each institution have made this collaboration a reality. Our shared vision and unified approach to biomedical research, discovery and development, combined with Celgene’s vast research, development and global commercial expertise, will enable us to accelerate the development and delivery of next-generation cancer therapies to patients worldwide.”

In addition to the benefits of long-standing professional relationships among the four cancer center directors, the depth and breadth of the institutions’ combined research and clinical infrastructures provide an exceptional foundation upon which to build this transformative collaboration. The four institutions collectively care for more than 30,000 new cancer patients each year, and have nearly 800 faculty members who are active in basic and clinical research, and clinical care.

“This is a paradigm-shifting collaboration that further strengthens our innovative ecosystem,” said Bob Hugin, Executive Chairman of Celgene Corporation. “We remain firmly committed to driving critical advances in cancer and believe the tremendous expertise of our collaboration partner institutions will be invaluable in identifying new therapies for cancer patients.”

The four consortium members are among the 69 institutions designated as Cancer Centers by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). These 69 institutions serve as the backbone of NCI’s research in the war against cancer.

The Cancer Trust, a non-profit organization, brought together the four institutions, thereby establishing the multi-institutional research consortium. T.R. Winston & Company, LLC served as the strategic advisor to The Cancer Trust and facilitated negotiations among The Cancer Trust, the institutions and Celgene. The commercialization offices of the four institutions, Columbia Technology Ventures, Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, Mount Sinai Innovation Partners and the Penn Center for Innovation, subsequently collaborated with Celgene to accelerate this effort to discover and develop new therapies for the treatment of cancer.

“We are extremely proud of what we’ve collectively accomplished through establishing this collaboration and aligning all participants,” said Erik Lium, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Mount Sinai Innovation Partners. “We look forward to continuing to work closely with one another, our colleagues in research and clinical care, and now with Celgene to advance the discovery of new therapies that will dramatically improve the lives of patients worldwide.”

About Celgene Corporation

Celgene Corporation, headquartered in Summit, New Jersey, is an integrated global biopharmaceutical company engaged primarily in the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases through next-generation solutions in protein homeostasis, immuno-oncology, epigenetics, immunology and neuro-inflammation. For more information, please visit www.celgene.com. Follow Celgene on Social Media: @Celgene, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

About The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

The Tisch Cancer Institute (TCI) is a world-class translational cancer institute established in December 2007. TCI has recruited more than 30 acclaimed physicians and researchers specializing in basic research, clinical research and population science; built outstanding programs in solid tumor oncology; enhanced existing robust programs in hematological malignancies; and advanced the study of cancer immunology and vaccine therapy. The completion of the Leon and Norma Hess Center for Science and Medicine in 2012 enabled the recruitment of 25 additional cancer researchers on two full research floors, with 48,000 square feet of space dedicated to cancer research. In 2015, TCI was named a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. TCI joined an elite group of 69 cancer institutions nationwide that have earned this designation, which is based on scientific excellence, robust clinical research, and beneficial community impact. To learn more about clinical trials at Mount Sinai, visit http://icahn.mssm.edu/research/clinical-trials.

About the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center of Columbia University Medical Center / New York-Presbyterian

The Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) of Columbia University (CU) is the University’s organizational structure for the conduct of basic, clinical and population-based cancer research and patient care. Cancer Center researchers and physicians are dedicated to understanding the biology of cancer and to applying that knowledge to the design of cancer therapies and prevention strategies that reduce its incidence and progression and improve the quality of the lives of those affected by cancer.

Columbia’s interest in cancer research dates from 1911 with the creation of the Institute for Cancer Research. Initially funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 1972 and designated comprehensive in 1979, the HICCC is one of 45 NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the United States, of which only four are in New York State.

Today, the HICCC has more than 200 members from six schools at Columbia University. Current NCI funding to members is more than $33 million and Cancer Center members have been awarded over $95 million (total costs) in total peer-reviewed cancer research grants.

About the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania

The Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) of the University of Pennsylvania is a world leader in cancer research, patient care, and education. Its preeminent position is reflected in its continuous designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) since 1973, one of 45 such Centers in the United States, and its longstanding “exceptional” rating by the NCI. The ACC’s clinical program is comprised of a dedicated, multi-disciplinary team of physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, nutritionists, and patient care coordinators. Each year, the Center has more than 90,000 outpatient visits, over 11,800 inpatient discharges, and provides 37,000 chemotherapy treatments and more than 66,000 radiation treatments to its patients. In addition, the ACC is home to more than 400 basic, translational, and clinical scientists who work in tandem to advance new treatments and cures for cancers of all kinds.

About Johns Hopkins Medicine

Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM), headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is a $7.7 billion integrated global health enterprise and one of the leading academic health care systems in the United States. JHM unites physicians and scientists of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with the organizations, health professionals and facilities of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System. JHM’s vision, “Together, we will deliver the promise of medicine,” is supported by its mission to improve the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in medical education, research and clinical care. Diverse and inclusive, JHM educates medical students, scientists, health care professionals and the public; conducts biomedical research and provides patient-centered medicine to prevent, diagnose and treat human illness. JHM operates six academic and community hospitals, four suburban health care and surgery centers, and more than 39 primary and specialty care outpatient sites under the umbrella of Johns Hopkins Community Physicians. JHM extends health care into the community and globally through Johns Hopkins Home Care Group, Johns Hopkins Medicine International and Johns Hopkins HealthCare. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, opened in 1889, has been ranked number one in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for 22 years of the survey’s 26-year history.

Since its opening in 1973, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins is a world leader in deciphering the mechanisms of cancer and new ways to treat it. The strength of the Kimmel Cancer Center’s research and treatment programs was recognized early on by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), becoming one of the first to earn comprehensive cancer center status and recognition as a “Center of Excellence.” It is one of only two NCI-affiliated cancer centers designated as “comprehensive” in the state of Maryland.

For more information about Johns Hopkins Medicine, its research, education and clinical programs, and for the latest health, science and research news, visit www.hopkinsmedicine.org.

About The Cancer Trust

The Cancer Trust, (www.cancertrust.org) a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, focuses on identifying and forming academic and pharmaceutical industry research collaborations to discover, develop and commercialize novel cancer diagnostic and therapeutic products. Its mission is to foster collaborative team science based on aligning interests and creating shared objectives. The Cancer Trust grew from a series of “Think Tank” meetings attended by New York’s financial and cancer care professionals. These meetings were led by Fighting Chance (www.fightingchance.org), a free cancer counseling center on Long Island founded by Duncan Darrow in 2002. The Cancer Trust was established in 2013. In addition to T.R. Winston & Company having served as the Trust’s strategic advisor for the collaborations announced today, the Trust’s advisors also include Booz Allen Hamilton, Sidley Austin LLP, Morgan Stanley and Spencer Stuart.