Indivumed and University of Rochester Collaborate for Cancer Research

Indivumed has announced a new partnership with the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) aimed at enhancing patient-centric cancer research. This collaboration focuses on developing novel therapeutics for patients with significant medical needs, particularly in oncology. By leveraging Indivumed’s expertise in standardized tissue and clinical data collection, the partnership seeks to accelerate advancements in precision oncology.

Collaboration Details and Objectives

Founded in Hamburg, Germany, Indivumed is a biotech company that specializes in precision oncology. Its platform utilizes carefully curated surgical tissue samples and comprehensive clinical data to drive innovative cancer research and drug development. The URMC’s Wilmot Cancer Institute, located in Rochester, New York, plays a crucial role in this collaboration. The institute will collect and process high-quality biosamples and clinical data in accordance with Indivumed’s rigorous standard operating procedures.

A key aspect of this partnership is reducing ischemia time to under ten minutes, which is essential for maintaining sample integrity and quality. The initial focus of the research will be on advanced stages of solid cancers, including colorectal, pancreatic, lung, and breast cancer. There is potential for future expansion to other cancer types as insights from this collaboration unfold.

Hartmut “Hucky” Land, PhD, Deputy Director of the Wilmot Cancer Institute, expressed optimism about the collaboration, stating, “We have worked with Indivumed successfully in the past, and our familiarity with their tissue and multi-omics data approach will provide an excellent foundation.” This partnership aims to uncover new therapeutics and biomarkers, ultimately improving clinical decision-making in cancer care.

Advancing Cancer Care Through Innovative Research

Indivumed’s CEO and founder, Hartmut Juhl, emphasized the significance of this deeper collaboration with URMC. “We are thrilled to deepen our collaboration with URMC, significantly enhancing our ability to identify novel cancer therapeutics in a truly patient-centered approach,” he stated. The partnership will focus on developing primary tumor models that can be used for testing new compounds against targets identified through Indivumed’s advanced data analysis capabilities.

This strategic alliance marks the University of Rochester Medical Center’s entry into the Indivumed Global Clinical Network, which includes a wide range of prominent hospitals and leading oncology institutes across North America, Europe, and Asia. The collaboration builds on previous successful joint research efforts, including a recent publication detailing a new classification method for distinct types of colon cancer.

The Wilmot Cancer Institute, designated by the National Cancer Institute, is a leader in cancer care and research, serving over three million people across 27 counties in Western and Central New York. The institute comprises more than 190 oncology physicians, over 500 oncology nurses, and approximately 115 scientists dedicated to various aspects of cancer research.

Indivumed, with over twenty years of experience in precision oncology, aims to redefine cancer treatment by identifying and developing first-in-class therapeutics. By focusing on patient-centered research, the company strives to ensure that every cancer patient benefits from precise therapeutic treatments.

This collaboration between Indivumed and URMC represents a significant step forward in the quest for effective cancer therapies, emphasizing the importance of combining expertise across institutions to address critical medical needs in oncology.