Personalized medicine gets $100K injection

Roche Canada has provided Health Sciences North and its affiliate, the Advanced Medical Research Institute of Canada (AMRIC), with a $100,000 research grant.

Roche is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medical diagnostic equipment. The company specializes in personalized health care, which uses advances in molecular science to better detect, treat and manage disease.

“Roche is proud to support the work of Health Sciences North and the Advanced Medical Research Institute of Canada,” said Ronnie Miller, president and CEO of Roche Canada, in a release. “As a company with a focus on precision medicine, we appreciate the significance of the research that is being undertaken here in personalized health care and the impact it will have on improving patient care.”

The grant will be used to advance the new personalized medicine program at Health Sciences North and AMRIC. Personalized medicine uses the latest advances in DNA sequencing to customize diagnoses and treatment plans for individual patients based on their unique genetic makeup.

“We are very pleased and grateful that Roche Canada is supporting our work in personalized medicine, which we know is one of the next great frontiers in health care,” said Dr. Denis Roy, the hospital's president and CEO, in a release. “Our vision is to be globally recognized for patient-centred innovation, and this commitment from Roche is a clear demonstration of how research is improving patient care.”

Pathologist Dr. Rebecca McClure will lead the new personalized medicine program. She is one of the first pathologists in North America to use next-generation DNA sequencing in a clinical setting for the evaluation of cancer, and will expand the use of the technology at Health Sciences North to include hereditary and infectious diseases.

“Personalized medicine is a new approach to care that gives us the best view of our bodies at the molecular level,” McClure said in a release. “This is very exciting news for all of us, because we know that many patients will benefit from this research.”

McClure's research will be conducted at AMRIC, where she serves as a senior scientist.