AbbVie has joined the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) Avatar Research Program, which fosters collaboration among key stakeholders in cancer research with the goal of discovering and developing new therapies in clinical trials.   

ORIEN Avatar is a collaboration among the 15 leading U.S. cancer hospitals that comprise ORIEN, pharmaceutical companies, and M2Gen, a health informatics company that manages the program. AbbVie is the fourth pharma company to participate in the Avatar Program. 

<p class="canvas-atom" content="The ORIEN Avatar Research Program was borne out of the ORIEN Cancer Initiative, which launched in 2014.  A first-of-its-kind effort in cancer research, ORIEN joins leading cancer centers across the U.S. to better study the disease and encourage collaboration in research and development across nearly 20 types of cancer. ORIEN Avatar's current focus areas have the potential to affect more than 1.4 million newly diagnosed patients in the U.S. annually.  Patients at participating ORIEN hospitals donate clinical and molecular data through their consent to the Total Cancer Care^® (TCC) Protocol, building a wealth of data that includes more than 150,000 patients to date.” data-reactid=”7″ style=”margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt; margin-left:0in;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: auto;text-align:start; widows: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px” type=”text”> Patients at participating ORIEN hospitals donate clinical and molecular data through their consent to the Total Cancer Care (TCC) Protocol, contributing to a wealth of data that includes more than 150,000 patients to date. This provides comprehensive molecular data that helps identify eligible participants for clinical trials. Pharmaceutical companies contribute financial support, and both companies and ORIEN member institutions receive access to genetic and disease information that can be used to advance the discovery and clinical development of cancer therapeutics.

“The ORIEN Avatar Research Program offers a unique and important opportunity in the effort to develop new treatments and cures for cancer,” said Steve Davidsen, vice president, Oncology Discovery, AbbVie.  “We see enormous potential to improve patient recruitment and targeting for clinical trials, especially more in specific subsets of patients.  Through the collaborative efforts of the ORIEN Avatar participants, we can magnify the collective data on specific tumor types and biomarkers to catalyze future discoveries for patients in need.” 

“We are pleased to welcome AbbVie to the ORIEN Avatar Research Program, and inspired by their commitment, to oncology research and development,” said William Dalton, Ph.D., MD, founder and chief executive officer of M2Gen. “This program offers the opportunity to make great strides in how we treat cancer.  AbbVie is a partner that clearly understands the potential of ORIEN Avatar; that common understanding and passion for the work will only further enable our success for cancer patients.”