Henry Ford Health System plans to rapidly expand its life-extending precision medicine program in Detroit after the Jeffries family pledged $25 million to create a specialized center.
The $25 million donation, provided by developer Chris Jeffries and his wife, Lisa, is the largest single gift from individuals in Henry Ford's 105-year history and one of the largest in the nation for a precision medicine program, Henry Ford officials said.
"We are incredibly grateful to Lisa and Chris Jeffries for their generosity," Wright Lassiter III, president and CEO of Henry Ford Health System, said in a statement. "We are experiencing a momentous era in medicine, a radical shift from the traditional approach to cancer care. This gift will help us consolidate and advance our collective efforts to create unprecedented access to advanced, highly personalized treatments for our patients and members."
But in the past three months, precision medicine or precision health, as neurosurgeon Steven Kalkanis, M.D., CEO of the Henry Ford Medical Group, likes to call it is now available for a whole host of new treatments besides those for cancer.
"Hot off the press. There have been animal studies and now clinical studies, only in the last several months, where precision health is ready for prime time and for human beings," said Kalkanis, who also is Henry Ford's chief academic officer.
Over the past decade, precision medicine has been evolving as a new type of medical care that initially focused on treating patients with various forms of cancer, including brain, lung, colon and pancreatic. It works like this: By analyzing patients' own molecular profile and the genetic mutations of their tumors, doctors are able to use the information to develop personalized treatments that could be more effective than standard care.
Doctors are now using precision medicine approaches to treat many other conditions, including cystic fibrosis, asthma, depression, heart disease, autoimmune diseases and multiple sclerosis, Kalkanis said.
"We have a whole era opening up to treat a host of other chronic diseases, using precision medicine to identify patients' molecular profiles, but potentially using existing drugs for everything from asthma to high blood pressure to depression," Kalkanis said. "However, the majority (of precision medicine) is still about designing a tailored drug regimen for individual patients."
Kalkanis said patients with some chronic conditions will one day soon be able to take a blood test and have their molecular profile entered into a database of existing drugs that may be able to match to an existing drug or to new ones being created in real time.
"We have found, in one of our clinical trials, that a (patient had a) rare type of brain cancer with a mutation impacting glucose levels. We used an existing diabetes drug and the patient went into remission," Kalkanis said.
Why the Jeffries donated
Chris Jeffries' father, Gerald was diagnosed with a highly malignant brain tumor in 2001.
Treated initially by neuro-oncologist Tom Mikkelsen and later Kalkanis and the Hermelin Brain Tumor Center team, Gerald was given only nine to 11 months to live, but using a precision medicine approach, he lived another five years until he died in December 2006.
"That meant so much to us. It's impossible to describe," Chris Jeffries said in a statement. Lisa Jeffries also lost her stepfather to cancer.
A native of Flint, Chris Jeffries is co-founder of Millennium Partners, a real estate development company that specializes in mixed-use, urban living and entertainment centers in Boston; San Francisco; Miami; Washington D.C.; Los Angeles; and New York.
Last year, the Jeffries donated $33 million to the University of Michigan Law School, where Chris was a 1974 graduate. The donation is earmarked for student support, including scholarships and other forms of financial aid, summer funding programs, and debt management. It was the largest private donation to the law school in its history, UM said.
Kalkanis said Gerald Jeffries was one of the first cohorts of patients in Henry Ford's personalized medicine program long before it was called precision medicine, in the early 2000s.
"He was enrolled in a clinical trial at Henry Ford 10 to 15 years ago and treated with a novel drug based on his unique cancer characteristics," Kalkanis said. "Because of that, he lived way beyond his life expectancy. The family was very supportive of our program and especially wanted to provide this same hope to others once they learned of the enhanced capability of precision medicine."
Since Gerald Jeffries was treated and Henry Ford developed its precision medicine approach, Kalkanis said there have been a number of patients who have outlived their prognoses. He said doctors can now give patients and families more hope than ever.
"We went through the precision medicine protocol, based on his own unique biomarkers and using a novel drug," he said. "Today these tests have become much more accessible. (For instance), a decade ago, it cost $5,000 (for testing). Now it costs several hundred for the tests" that can lead to the novel, personalized treatment.
Henry Ford's precision medicine program
For years, Henry Ford has been at the forefront of the precision medicine revolution, making world-class, targeted cancer treatments available at its national destination referral center, the Henry Ford Cancer Institute, officials said.
"By analyzing genetic and non-genetic factors, we can gain a better understanding of how a disease forms, progresses and can be treated in a specific patient," Mikkelsen, who is Henry Ford's medical director of the Precision Medicine Program and Clinical Trials Office, said in a statement.
"As of now, we can check for more than 500 genomic markers, which helps us understand the pattern of changes in a patient's tumor cells that influence how cancer grows and spreads," Mikkelsen said. "I'm confident this gift will lead to advancements that provide hope for patients with even the most complex diagnoses."
Kalkanis said the $25 million donation, which is expected to be received over the next several years, will enable Henry Ford to do a number of things.
"It takes investment to build out our biodepository with tissue samples, test them, look for biomarkers and see if (patients are) eligible for certain drugs," Kalkanis said. "We need to design our lab platform that is FDA-approved and recruit the best and brightest scientists and clinicians (specializing in) other cancer types."
Based on the current projection of about four to five chronic diseases and about 10 subspecialties that can be addressed by precision medicine, Kalkanis estimated Henry Ford will recruit two to three scientists and clinicians each year for the next few years.
"We are launching the search process for key researchers and working with the lab and pathology group for tests this calendar year," he said. "We should be up and running over the next year."
Adnan Munkarah, M.D., Henry Ford's executive vice president and chief clinical officer, said taking research in the lab and translating it to patient care is a standard process at Henry Ford.
"(It) is a critical element to help us treat many of the most challenging conditions our patients face," Munkarah said in a statement. "Translational research is bench-to-bedside, meaning it allows patients to benefit from discoveries in real time. That is an essential part of our history and commitment to medicine and academics not only offering the latest innovations in medicine, but also playing a leading role in their development."
Precision medicine is an approach to patient care that allows doctors to select treatments most likely to help patients based on a genetic understanding of their disease.
"The support of our donors is the fuel behind our clinical innovations and the breakthroughs that are improving people's lives," Mary Jane Vogt, Henry Ford's senior vice president and chief development officer, said in a statement. "It is remarkable to work with donors who believe in a better tomorrow and the power of a unified approach to medicine."
The Jeffrieses said they believe Henry Ford will achieve transformational advancements in cancer treatment using precision medicine and personalized treatments.
"The team at Henry Ford is second to none," said Chris Jeffries. "We believe this gift will lead to other families having more time together, as I had with my father. Defeating cancer requires a concerted effort from everyone and we hope to make as big an impact on that goal as possible."
Read the original:
- Podcast 9 Athens part 3 and news - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Podcast 10 Athens part 4 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Podcast 11 Athens Part 5 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 12 Cardiac Nuclear Medicine in the UK - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Podcast 13 Choline PET and prostate cancer - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode14 ED function and Dysponea - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- ep 15 Collimator Choice and Reconstruction algorithm - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 16 Dr Strauss on vulnerable plaque - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode17 Chemical Stress - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 18 Myocardial Perfusion Imaging and Diabetes - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 19 The INSPIRE trial - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- 20 Dual isotope with a difference - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 21 The real effect of stress - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 22 D-SPECT - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 23 VQ Reprise - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 24 Hepatobiliary Nuclear Medicine - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 25 Sleep Apnea - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 26 Imaging Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 27 Cardiac Stem Cells - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 28 Molly Supply - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 29 Melanoma therapy interview with Dr Ekaterina Dadachova - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 30 Viral Therapy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 31 breast radiotherapy using radioisotopes - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 32 news from snm - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 33 EBV Imaging and Therapy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Episode 34 Dr Lele SNM India 2009 - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Episode 35 Dr Andrew Scott from the Ludwig institute - January 10th, 2010 [January 10th, 2010]
- Episode 36 CardiArc - February 25th, 2010 [February 25th, 2010]
- Episode 37 Dr Modder Radiosynoviorthesis (Radiation Synovectomy) - March 31st, 2010 [March 31st, 2010]
- Episode 38 Indian Nuclear Medicine With Dr Malhotra and Dr Krishna - May 28th, 2010 [May 28th, 2010]
- Episode 39 Prof Ora Israel The Utility of Hybrid Imaging - July 13th, 2010 [July 13th, 2010]
- Episode 40 New V/Q SPECT developments - October 11th, 2010 [October 11th, 2010]
- Episode 41 scintimun - February 14th, 2011 [February 14th, 2011]
- Episode 42 Radio-Isotope Supply into the future - March 6th, 2011 [March 6th, 2011]
- Podcast 4: DNA therapy - April 24th, 2011 [April 24th, 2011]
- Sorry about the delay a new podcast will be out soon! - April 24th, 2011 [April 24th, 2011]
- Podcast 5 Flash 3D - April 24th, 2011 [April 24th, 2011]
- Podcast 6 Affibody - April 24th, 2011 [April 24th, 2011]
- Podcast 7 EANM 2006 Athens Part 1 - April 24th, 2011 [April 24th, 2011]
- Podcast 8 Athens Part 2 - April 24th, 2011 [April 24th, 2011]
- Episode 43 Rapidscan Part 1, 720P high quality video version - May 1st, 2011 [May 1st, 2011]
- Episode 43 Rapidscan Part 1, Ipod quality video - May 1st, 2011 [May 1st, 2011]
- Episode 43 Rapidscan Part 1, Audio version - May 1st, 2011 [May 1st, 2011]
- Episode 45 Mummies with cardiovascular disease video - May 21st, 2011 [May 21st, 2011]
- Episode 45 Mummies with cardiovascular disease audio edition - May 21st, 2011 [May 21st, 2011]
- Episode 46 Dr Gordon DePuey Choosing Reconstruction clinical perspective - August 7th, 2011 [August 7th, 2011]
- Episode 46 Dr Gordon DePuey Choosing Reconstruction clinical perspective audio version - August 7th, 2011 [August 7th, 2011]
- Episode 47 Cardiac Image Fusion With Dr Kaufmann - September 18th, 2011 [September 18th, 2011]
- Episode 47 Cardiac Fusion with Dr Kaufmann video version - September 18th, 2011 [September 18th, 2011]
- Dear Steve, I am and many more like me are your one more thing. - October 9th, 2011 [October 9th, 2011]
- EPISODE 48 PET MRI camera from Siemens with Dr Georgi audio - October 23rd, 2011 [October 23rd, 2011]
- EPISODE 48 PET MRI camera from Siemens Dr Georgi video - October 23rd, 2011 [October 23rd, 2011]
- Silicon Biosystems to Present Single-Circulating Tumor Cell Molecular Characterization at the Fourth World CTC Summit - April 25th, 2012 [April 25th, 2012]
- Leukaemia cells have a remembrance of things past - April 25th, 2012 [April 25th, 2012]
- Technologist Education Requirements Can Help Cut Repeat Scans - April 25th, 2012 [April 25th, 2012]
- HKU Collaborative Research Discovers A Novel Molecular Mechanism Of A New Anti-HIV-1 Drug Candidate - April 25th, 2012 [April 25th, 2012]
- Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis and the Nephrotic Syndrome - Part 1 Clinical - Video - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Electro-Medicine : Biological Physics - The Molecular Basis of Alzheimers Disease - Video - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- osdd heterocyclic compounds and molecular medicines - Video - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Molecule to Medicine: The Biomarker Frontier - Video - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Fulfilling the Promise of Molecular Medicine in a Developmental Brain Disorder - Video - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Focus on Stefanie Dimmeler - Video - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Dundee - May 4th, 2012 [May 4th, 2012]
- Nanotechnology In Medicine: Huge Potential, But What Are The Risks? - May 5th, 2012 [May 5th, 2012]
- Cutting Edge Technology Coming To DMH - May 5th, 2012 [May 5th, 2012]
- This Week in Experimental and Molecular Pathology - May 5th, 2012 [May 5th, 2012]
- Researchers' discovery offers hope for cancer, heart disease miracle drugs - May 7th, 2012 [May 7th, 2012]
- Penn State student Zachary Hostetler from Garnet Valley is being honored as a student marshal - May 7th, 2012 [May 7th, 2012]
- NCKU Student Wins Prestigious Award for Anti-Cancer Research - May 10th, 2012 [May 10th, 2012]
- In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) Market (Clinical Chemistry, Immunoassays, Molecular Diagnostics, Hematology Analyzers ... - May 10th, 2012 [May 10th, 2012]
- Pitt team uses genomics to identify a molecular-based treatment for a viral skin cancer - May 10th, 2012 [May 10th, 2012]
- Genomics used to identify a molecular-based treatment for a viral skin cancer - May 10th, 2012 [May 10th, 2012]
- 2 molecular biologists get $500K medical prize - May 13th, 2012 [May 13th, 2012]
- 2 molecular biologists share $500K medical prize - May 13th, 2012 [May 13th, 2012]
- Lab21 Unveils New Molecular Analysis Services at Greenville Site - May 13th, 2012 [May 13th, 2012]
- 2 molecular biologists from NYC to share $500K medical prize for pioneering research on cells - May 13th, 2012 [May 13th, 2012]
- Two Molecular Biologists Get $500K Medical Prize - May 13th, 2012 [May 13th, 2012]
- Pair of molecular biologists receive Albany Medical Center Prize - May 13th, 2012 [May 13th, 2012]
- CNIO scientists successfully test the first gene therapy against aging-associated decline - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]
- Cancer Institute of New Jersey Aims to Advance Personalized Cancer Treatments Through 'Precision Medicine' - May 16th, 2012 [May 16th, 2012]