Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust and Flinn Foundation launch molecular diagnostics ...( PHOENIX Oct. 17 2007 Two Arizona-ba...),Health

PHOENIX, Oct. 17, 2007 Two Arizona-based philanthropic organizations have committed $45 million to fund an innovative initiative to develop personalized molecular diagnostics. The ability to diagnose and treat disease based on every persons unique physiological makeup is critical to enabling physicians to improve health outcomes while at the same time reducing medical costs.

Under the Partnership for Personalized Medicine, The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust has committed $35 million and the Flinn Foundation has granted $10 million to bring together a wide range of resources to advance a global personalized medicine initiative.

World-renowned scientist Dr. Lee Hartwell, 2001 Nobel laureate and director of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has been recruited to lead this effort. The Hutchinson Center, based in Seattle, is a leader in using molecular diagnostics for the early detection and clinical management of cancer and other diseases. In addition to his current position as president and director of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, he will chair the Partnership executive committee, which includes Dr. George Poste, director of the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, and Dr. Jeffrey Trent, president and scientific director of the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

It is a tremendous opportunity for me to be a part of this new model for improving health while reducing health care costs that is being funded by the Piper and Flinn foundations, Hartwell said. The collaboration between TGen, the Biodesign Institute at ASU, other institutions in Arizona and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center brings together enormous expertise to tackle major challenges in bringing new science and technology to disease management.

The cornerstone of the Partnership is the creation of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics that draws upon the scientific strengths of two of the state
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