Leading academic cancer research network led by Aster Insights accelerates oncology discovery and therapeutic development

Tampa, FL and Kansas City, KS  / June 2, 2023 / -- Aster Insights, the leading provider of technology-enabled data and analytics solutions for oncology discovery, today announced The University of Kansas Cancer Center will join its Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN). The KU Cancer Center will be the latest NCI-designated cancer center to join ORIEN, which is comprised of 18 cancer centers across the U.S. dedicated to collaborative research to accelerate cancer discovery and development.

“We are thrilled to welcome Kansas to ORIEN,” said Dr. George Weiner, Chairman of the ORIEN Steering Committee, and Cancer Center Director Emeritus at University of Iowa Holden Cancer Center. “I am familiar with the remarkable strengths at The University of Kansas Cancer Center, including its cancer bioinformatics research capabilities. The University of Kansas Cancer Center brings incredible expertise that will have an immediate impact on our work at ORIEN. We look forward to launching new research collaborations with and between KUCC, ORIEN members, Aster Insights, and our life sciences industry partners to accelerate cancer cures.”

“The KU Cancer Center is proud to join ORIEN and work alongside this outstanding network of academic cancer centers,” said Dr. Roy Jensen, vice chancellor and director of The University of Kansas Cancer Center. “Collaboration in cancer research leads to critical breakthroughs that are changing the lives of patients with cancer worldwide. ORIEN offers us a unique opportunity to partner with key stakeholders in academia, industry, and most importantly, patients, to change the way we treat, and cure, cancer.”

Launched in 2014, ORIEN is the largest and longest-running academic cancer research consortium of its kind in the United States. ORIEN members participate in the Total Cancer Care (TCC) protocol, the largest lifetime-consented patient research program in oncology, utilizing deep clinical and genomic data to best support patient care, research, and discovery. Aster Insights is the only company offering ongoing data and specimen collection from cancer patients across ORIEN, creating one of the most diverse data sets of patients treated in academic cancer centers across the U.S. To date, more than 380,000 patients representing dozens of different types of cancer have enrolled in the TCC protocol, giving ORIEN members, Aster Insights, and its partners access to this remarkable and powerful resource.

“The KU Cancer Center is an important addition as ORIEN grows its national footprint, and expands into new lanes of scientific expertise,” said Dr. Anand Shah, CEO of Aster Insights. “Through ORIEN, we are able to generate unmatched scientific and clinical intelligence that is changing oncology in real-time.”

The KU Cancer Center officially joins ORIEN on May 21, 2023.

 

About Aster Insights
Aster Insights is a leading oncology-focused bioinformatics solutions company advancing precision medicine and transforming cancer care through clinical and molecular data and analytics tools. The company’s innovative dataset accelerates the discovery, development, and delivery of personalized therapies. Aster Insights is the only bioinformatics company that has lifetime, patient-consented longitudinal clinical data, coupled with whole exome (WES) and whole transcriptome (WTS) sequencing, for both tumor and germline data. Aster Insight's Oncology Research Information Exchange Network® (ORIEN), an alliance of NCI-Designated cancer centers that gather de-identified and lifetime-consented clinical and genomic patient data for research purposes, enables a collaborative approach to medical product discovery. Learn more at www.AsterInsights.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About The University of Kansas Cancer Center
The University of Kansas Cancer Center is transforming cancer research and clinical care by linking an innovative approach to drug discovery, delivery and development to a nationally-accredited patient care program. Our consortium center includes cancer research and health care professionals associated with the University of Kansas Medical Center and The University of Kansas Health System; the University of Kansas, Lawrence; The Stowers Institute for Medical Research; Children’s Mercy; and in partnership with members of the Masonic Cancer Alliance.

 

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University of Kansas Medical Center
Kay Hawes, M.S.
Associate Director of News and Media Relations
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