ROSWELL PARK WILL LEAD $5.1M GENE-SEQUENCING EFFORT FUNDED BY NYS INITIATIVE

Effort will examine genetic factors in common diseases and advance field of personalized medicine

BUFFALO, NY — The Roswell Park Cancer Institute Genome Project was approved December 8, 2011 as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council initiative. RPCI will lead this project, which will compile and analyze the detailed genetic data (the “genomes”) of Western New York citizens. This will significantly enhance our ability to develop personalized, more effective medical care plans and treatments for citizens of Western New York (WNY) — and beyond.

The $5.1 million award for the RPCI Genome Project covers the two-year pilot phase of the project. During this phase of the project, 1,000 area residents will be asked to donate a blood sample and provide detailed medical information; all these data will be collected in a fully protected way to ensure the privacy of all participants. The Genome Project will examine genetic factors that play a role in cancer as well as common diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.

RPCI President and CEO Donald L. Trump, MD, FACP, and Deputy Director Candace Johnson, PhD, will lead the RPCI Genome Project as Co-Principal Investigators. Partners include the University at Buffalo, Kaleida Health, the Catholic Health System and Erie County Medical Center as well as the three major health insurers in WNY (HealthNow/BlueCross BlueShield, Independent Health and Univera Healthcare), The P2 Collaborative and HEALTHeLINK.

The Roswell Park Cancer Institute Genome Project was championed by WNY Regional Economic Development Council (WNYREDC) Co-Chairs Satish K. Tripathi, University at Buffalo President, and Howard A. Zemsky, Managing Partner of Larkin Development Group, along with Andrew Rudnick, President of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and Health & Life Sciences Co-Chair for the WNYREDC.

“Together, they ably and energetically oversaw the maturation and development of this proposal, working closely with RPCI at every stage,” said Dr. Trump. “We are grateful for the leadership they, Governor Cuomo and all the members of the Western New York Regional Council have provided through this ambitious development program, and eagerly look forward to implementing this effort.”

For more information, visit RPCI’s website athttp://www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or email askrpci@roswellpark.org.