Members Include Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck Group and Horizon Discovery
Cambridge, 7 December 2016 ... Repositive, a software company developing novel tools to improve discovery and access to human genomic research data, and AstraZeneca have announced the inaugural members of the PDX Consortium, which was set up to develop a collaborative, pre-competitive resource, to provide streamlined discovery and access to molecular data from Patient Derived Xenografts (PDXs) for use within oncology research.
The list of inaugural consortium members includes AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck Group, Xentech, Xenopat and Horizon Discovery, all of whom will actively participate in supporting the development of the pre-competitive PDX resource. Financial details were not disclosed.
The output from the consortium will include additional resources and tools which support the use of PDXs within oncology research. This includes a search platform and unified query engine, which allows users to search and utilize PDX model data from multiple PDX resources.
Fiona Nielsen, CEO of Repositive said: “I am delighted by the level of interest in our consortium. With the support of so many leading companies and organizations, I am confident that we can develop an excellent pre-competitive resource. Through initiatives such as the PDX Consortium, the life sciences industry is able to better collaborate and cooperate, bringing benefits for researchers to shorten the time for finding cures for patients.”
Jonathan Dry, Principal Scientist, AstraZeneca Oncology iMed, said: “The creation of the PDX Consortium will prove a significant benefit to the global life sciences community, improving research into PDX models and providing future patient benefits.”
Dr Juergen Harter, VP Information Systems at Horizon Discovery said: “Horizon is delighted to be a member of this global PDX Consortium. Through our contributions of genomic data and molecular characterisation of the PDX models, we can help to improve the quality of accessible model data. Alongside this, we can apply our expertise and support Repositive to develop an interactive online service that enables PDX users to choose the best possible model for their needs”.
Patient Derived Xenografts (PDXs) are derived by direct implantation of cancerous tissue from a patient into an immunodeficient mouse. They harbour advantages over cancer cell line derived xenografts since the tumors have not been exposed to the selective pressures, stimuli, damage and genetic evolution resulting from the cell culturing process. As a result PDX models better maintain the heterogeneity and structure of the original patient tumor, and therefore experimental results and drug responses are more directly translatable to the clinic.
The project was inspired by an idea submitted to the Pistoia Alliance, a global, not-for-profit alliance of life science companies, vendors, publishers, and academic groups dedicated to improving global life sciences research and development.
