Atlantic Health System has joined forces with City of Hope affiliate Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Origin Commercial Ventures to create a new platform designed to deliver less expensive immunotherapies and other breakthrough cancer treatments through faster access and novel payment alternatives.
Atlantic Health System has joined forces with City of Hope affiliate Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Origin Commercial Ventures to create a new platform designed to deliver less expensive immunotherapies and other breakthrough cancer treatments through faster access and novel payment alternatives.
The goal of the Breakthrough Oncology Accelerator flagship platform at Atlantic Health is to create a model that will enable health systems around the country to provide faster access and better patient outcomes by enabling clinicians and researchers to share their knowledge and provide more options for patients.
The alliance is intended to leverage proprietary platforms, expertise and collaborations to help identify and deploy resources that will assist oncologists in meeting the needs of patients.
Dr. Eric Whitman, medical director of Atlantic Health System Cancer Care, told NJBIZ that one of the key requirements was to have an academic partner that provides them with a “pipeline” of drugs and technologies that would give patients access to cutting-edge technologies and ultimately, hope.
“Our partnership with TGen/Origin has already enhanced our clinical trial menu and changed cancer care in Northern New Jersey, adding 15 novel clinical trials in the past year that are only available at a handful of sites in the world,” Whitman said.
In addition, Whitman said that TGen/Origin will assist the cancer program in multiple ways, providing it access to their core research strengths in genetic testing, liquid biopsies, scientific support services and translational science.
“Our cancer specialists will become faculty at TGen, interacting with their world-class scientists to help design the next generation of clinical and translational research,” Whitman said. “Beyond these clinical and research benefits, TGen/Origin and AHS are jointly developing enhanced access models for the newest cancer therapies, which are scheduled for release over the coming months.”
Regarding the impact on patient care, Whitman said that the partnership will ultimately improve cancer patient care by creating access to novel therapies and tests that are not otherwise available to patients in this area.
“For example, the Catalyst study was funded by a TGen Stand up to Cancer grant,” he said. “In this cutting-edge study, pancreatic cancer patients who have responded well to initial chemotherapy are placed on maintenance immunotherapy, which could improve their long-term prospects for survival and even cure. Now open at AHS Cancer Care sites, this treatment is only available at three sites in the world.”
He added that the Breakthrough Oncology Accelerator platform will ultimately improve patient access to the most high-tech and expensive treatment options.
“The platform is intended to be flexible and potentially extendable to other centers across the country,” he said.
