News Release

Contributing membership in the biomarkers consortium surges to 30 companies and nonprofits

Business Announcement

NIH/Foundation for the National Institutes of Health

BETHESDA, Md., July 22—Contributing membership in The Biomarkers Consortium now totals 30 companies and non-profit trade associations and advocacy groups, it was announced today. To date, these organizations have committed an aggregate of nearly $2 million to fund the first year of the central activities of the consortium which is managed be the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.

A major public-private biomedical research partnership unprecedented in breadth, The Biomarkers Consortium embraces government, industry, patient advocacy and other non-profit private sector organizations. In addition to the Foundation for NIH, founding members include: the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

The 30 contributing members are: the Academy of Molecular Imaging; the Advanced Medical Technology Association; the Alzheimer’s Association; the American Association for Cancer Research; the American Cancer Society; the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology; the American Society of Clinical Oncology; the Association of Clinical Research Organizations; AstraZeneca; BG Medicine; the Biotechnology Industry Organization; Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Bristol-Myers Squibb; EMD Serono; the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research; GlaxoSmithKline; GVK BIOSciences; Johnson & Johnson, the Kidney Cancer Association; The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; Eli Lilly & Company; Luminex Corporation; Merck & Co., Inc.; Novartis; Novo Nordisk; Pfizer Inc; the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; the Radiological Society of North America; F. Hoffmann-La Roche; and, the Society of Nuclear Medicine.

As previously reported, this large-scale, public-private biomedical research partnership was formally launched in late 2006 to identify and qualify new, quantitative biological markers (“biomarkers”), for use by biomedical researchers, regulators, and health care providers. The Biomarkers Consortium will harmonize approaches to identifying viable biomarkers, verify their individual value, and formalize their use in research and regulatory approval.

The overall aim of The Biomarkers Consortium is to accelerate delivery of technologies, medicines, and therapies for successful prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. The identification of biomarkers is an essential element for the new era of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine in which the accuracy of individual health assessments will exceed those of today. Biomarkers will accelerate basic and translational research and the development of safe and effective medicines and treatments for a wide range of diseases and help guide clinical practice.

The Biomarkers Consortium is now actively soliciting biomarker project concepts from the biomedical research community. If adopted by the consortium, concepts are developed into formal project proposals. Upon approval of project plans by the consortium’s executive committee, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health then undertakes fund-raising for project implementation. For example, to date over $6 million has been raised from the private sector to support the consortium’s lung cancer and lymphoma cancer biomarker projects, the first projects approved for execution by the consortium.

Concept submissions must succinctly and clearly define the background and rationale for the proposed project and describe findings that demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed study and the likelihood of the expected outcome. Complete information on The Biomarkers Consortium, including its online project concept submission process and how organizations can become involved in the consortium through its contributing membership program,is available at: www.biomarkersconsortium.org.

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The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health was established by the United States Congress to support the mission of the National Institutes of Health – improving health through scientific discovery. The foundation identifies and develops opportunities for innovative public-private partnerships involving industry, academia, and the philanthropic community. A non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation, the foundation raises private-sector funds for a broad portfolio of unique programs that complement and enhance NIH priorities and activities. The foundation’s Web site address is www.fnih.org.


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