TAMPA, Fla., HUNTSVILLE, Ala.—The Oncology Research Information Exchange Network®(ORIEN), an alliance of leading cancer centers throughout the United States, HudsonAlpha Institute of Biotechnology, a nonprofit research institute, announced today a new collaboration to advance cancer research and care. Under the agreement, HudsonAlpha will provide genomic sequencing services for the ORIEN Avatar™ Research Program. The program allows the nation's leading cancer centers to optimize and enable novel treatments and clinical trials, which could have the potential to impact millions of patients worldwide.

Through the agreement, HudsonAlpha will provide DNA sequences for 20,000 patient samples, tumor and non-tumor, by 2019. Their team will perform whole exome sequencing and RNA sequencing to learn more about the genetic makeup of cancerous tumors.

The ORIEN Avatar Research Program is a first-of-its kind collaboration that brings together patients, physicians, researchers and pharmaceutical companies to speed clinical development and discovery of treatments for advanced-stage cancers. It is an integral part of ORIEN, a national research partnership among 13 of the top cancer care institutions in the U.S. Together, ORIEN institutions have constructed the world's largest cancer database, with more than 140,000 patients committing to lifetime study through ORIEN's Total Cancer Care® Protocol. By studying the patient—and not just the cancer—researchers can better understand the disease and how to best treat it.

HudsonAlpha's Genomic Service Laboratory will provide DNA sequencing services to identify the genetic disturbances and mutations of each patient's cancer. Understanding the genetic makeup of a tumor, as well as the unique genetic profile of each patient can provide researchers at ORIEN member institutions and ORIEN Avatar pharmaceutical partners with valuable data to develop targeted therapies and launch new clinical trials.

"This unique program combines capabilities from leading cancer institutions across the United States in an effort to dramatically improve patient care and outcomes," said Shawn Levy, PhD, director of the Genomic Services Laboratory. "We are honored to participate in this collaboration and look forward to helping make precision-based therapies a reality for more patients."

Health informatics solution company M2GEN is leading the ORIEN Avatar Research Program and says working with HudsonAlpha will help accelerate the discovery and delivery of personalized medicine.

"The ORIEN Avatar Research Program represents a collaborative space within the healthcare community to drive new discoveries and shorten clinical development timelines by proactively matching patients to trials. The sequencing capabilities and expertise of HudsonAlpha will help accelerate the process, creating more options for patients and a more effective means to drive the development of life-saving treatments," said William S. Dalton, M.D., Ph.D., founder and CEO of M2GEN, which manages ORIEN and the Total Cancer Care Protocol and database.

To learn more about ORIEN and the ORIEN Avatar Research Program, please visit http://oriencancer.org/.

About ORIEN
The Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) is a national research partnership among several leading U.S. cancer centers that have joined together in an unprecedented collaboration to study, treat and ultimately cure cancer. Founded in 2014 by Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla. And The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio, ORIEN is based on a model of cooperation, coordination, and efficiency in cancer research. This first-of-its-kind effort has led to the construction of the world's largest cancer database, with more than 130,000 patients committing to lifetime study through ORIEN's Total Cancer Care Protocol. Through this specialized, innovative approach to personalized medicine, researchers can better understand the disease and how to best treat, and ultimately cure cancer. For more information: www.oriencancer.org.

About HudsonAlpha
HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is a nonprofit institute dedicated to innovating in the field of genomic technology and sciences across a spectrum of biological challenges. Opened in 2008, its mission is four-fold: sparking scientific discoveries that can impact human health and well-being; bringing genomic medicine into clinical care; fostering life sciences entrepreneurship and business growth; and encouraging the creation of a genomics-literate workforce and society. The HudsonAlpha biotechnology campus consists of 152 acres nestled within Cummings Research Park, the nation's second largest research park. Designed to be a hothouse of biotech economic development, HudsonAlpha's state-of-the-art facilities co-locate nonprofit scientific researchers with entrepreneurs and educators. The relationships formed on the HudsonAlpha campus encourage collaborations that produce advances in medicine and agriculture. Under the leadership of Dr. Richard M. Myers, a key collaborator on the Human Genome Project, HudsonAlpha has become a national and international leader in genetics and genomics research and biotech education, and includes more than 30 diverse biotech companies on campus. To learn more about HudsonAlpha, visit: http://hudsonalpha.org/.

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