TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 5 30 I think cancer research in the United States has led cancer research throughout the world. […] The only way to move forward is by shifting the cur- rent model into something similar to what's being attempted here—one that's research driven and patient-centric. — HAGOP M. KANTARJIAN, M.D. Professor in the Department of Leukemia for the Division of Cancer Medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center A cademia and industry are often seen in stark opposition to each other—two warring titans with fun- damentally different ideologies and ambitions. In health care, the division between research institutions and phar- maceutical companies has the potential to cause the next great discovery, from life-saving drugs to new therapeutic techniques, to slip through our fingers. Can we really afford that when the pros- pect of ending cancer is on the line? Fortunately, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is confidently bridging those two worlds. Realizing the untapped potential in combining the expertise of an academic medical center with the vast pipeline of resources of pharmaceutical leaders, they have spent the past several years forging alliances with industry part- ners. Nature Biotechnology, a monthly publication covering the science and business of biotechnology, recently published rankings of the most active institutions in terms of alliances and collaborations. With The University of Texas coming in second place overall and bringing in a total of eight deals— seven of those from MD Anderson— the importance of cultivating those connections cannot be overstated. "This really conveys the great strides that MD Anderson has made as an institution," said Ferran Prat, Ph.D., J.D., vice president of strategic industry ventures for MD Anderson. " Biotech and Pharma companies have tradition- ally struck alliances with institutions on the West Coast or the East Coast, but now they are increasingly entering into significant deals with us. This helps to create a virtuous cycle where we con- duct all types of research of different magnitudes, which will enable us to enhance these alliances." As the single entity with the most deals in the entire ranking, com- pared with institutions such as the University of California San Fransisco and Massachusetts General Hospital, MD Anderson is paving the way for research-driven discoveries that focus on benefitting individual patients. "I've been a researcher for the past three decades, and the mission of what we do at MD Anderson is focused on improving patient care," said Hagop M. Kantarjian, M.D., professor in the department of leukemia for the Division of Cancer Medicine at MD Anderson. "We believe that research is the only way to accomplish that. If we have outstanding clinical translational researchers, then we can design studies that are ahead of the game and can improve the survival of patients long before they become the standard of care." Kantarjian is the principal investi- gator in several studies stemming from one of MD Anderson's most promising industry partnerships—a collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squib to advance our understanding of the role of the immune system in treating leukemia. "Bristol-Myers Squibb has an extremely powerful pipeline in immu- notherapy," said Prat. "In leukemia, there haven't been many immunother- apy drugs that have moved forward— that's significant. Financial resources are just an enabler to actually conduct the research that will cure the disease. With this partnership, we have access to the full pipeline with all of those resources to find out the best combina- tions and the best patient populations." Forms of cancer, such as leukemia, that affect the blood, bone marrow, and lymphatic system—also known as hematologic malignancies—have poor outcomes compared to other cancer types, especially among elderly patients and those who have suffered multiple relapses. According to the American Cancer Society, someone in the United States is diagnosed with a form of blood cancer approximately every three minutes; someone in the U.S. dies from a blood cancer every 10 minutes. Collaborating to Cure MD Anderson is leading the charge in forging alliances between academic institutions and industry partners—and cultivating a new model for research along the way B y A l e x O r l a n d o Hagop M. Kantarjian, M.D. (Credit: F. Carter Smith)

• Cover