On February 23, 2016 Juno Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: JUNO), a biopharmaceutical company focused on re-engaging the body’s immune system to revolutionize the treatment of cancer, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch) reported the creation of a new, best-in-class clinical trials unit (CTU) dedicated to immuno-oncology (Press release, Juno, FEB 23, 2016, View Source [SID:1234509163]). Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo! University of Washington, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA), Fred Hutch, and Juno are all investing in the CTU, and Juno will also provide research funds to Fred Hutch in support of pre-clinical and clinical research focused on the development of improved cancer immunotherapies.
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"Immuno-oncology, and in particular, T cell therapies are advancing at a rapid pace, and translational medicine and clinical care of patients need to move as quickly as the basic science," said Mark J. Gilbert, M.D., Juno’s Chief Medical Officer. "We are pleased to work with these world-leading institutions to accelerate the pace of learning for the field and the standard of care for patients. Our ongoing CAR T cell trials have highlighted the opportunity for strong translational medicine to improve our therapies and for dedicated clinical scientists to improve patient outcomes."
"Establishing this clinical trials unit is vital to accelerating our lifesaving research," said Fred Hutch President and Director Gary Gilliland, M.D., Ph.D. "We are on the precipice of multiple curative therapies, and the investment of Juno and the SCCA in our science will be catalytic in moving our discoveries into patients."
"Clinical trials are crucial steps in bringing safer, more effective cancer therapies to the patients who need them," said Fred Appelbaum, M.D., SCCA Executive Director and President. "The CTU will enable patients participating in clinical trials to get all of their care at a single site, with a team of dedicated surgeons, radiologists, pathologists and medical oncologists."
In addition to consolidating trial participants’ care into one location, the new unit will have dedicated space for research teams to handle specimens and collect trial data. The CTU is expected to be operational in mid-2016 and will be available for studies supported by Juno and other drugmakers.