The Hamner Institutes and Oslo Cancer Cluster Announce Partnership

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. and OSLO, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hamner Institutes at Research Triangle Park has signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding with the Oslo Cancer Cluster in Oslo, Norway, one of the leading cancer clusters in Europe. The goal of the collaboration is to strengthen The Hamner's Global BioScience Gateway for Translational Research and Business Development, which began with partnerships in China.  Through its partnership with the Oslo Cancer Cluster, the expanded Global Biosciences Gateway will now enable companies and comprehensive cancer centers to speed development of new cancer therapies.  The collaboration will create an infrastructure in North Carolina and Oslo for efficient drug discovery, high quality oncology clinical trials, and access to drug safety and regulatory experts that can address FDA, EMEA and eventually the Chinese SFDA.

Specific initiatives of The Hamner-Oslo collaboration will focus on translational research, business development, and training and education.  The Hamner will provide access to its wide network of research collaborators including three Comprehensive Cancer Centers located in North Carolina, the Shanghai Center for Disease Control, and Tianjin Institute for Hematology.  Training and education will include post-doctoral training in innovative drug safety technologies, business training for entering the U.S. market, and regulatory training for compliance with FDA standards. Oslo will bring its highly regarded research and Phase I resources, and potential future access to its own growing European network of collaborators, which includes Heidelberg, Lund, Toulouse, Barcelona and Madrid.  

Additionally, The Hamner Accelerator will facilitate the launch of Norwegian bioscience companies – currently numbering among some of the leading innovators in Europe entering the U.S. market.  The trilateral collaboration among The Hamner, the Oslo Cancer Cluster and China will serve as a vital portal for the pharmaceutical industry to access new discoveries and resources in oncology.

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"We passionately believe that this partnership with The Hamner will enable companies and comprehensive cancer centers to speed development of new cancer therapies through global partnerships," said Bjarte Reve, CEO of the Oslo Cancer Cluster. "Over the last few years, we have already taken great strides in Europe to bring together such clusters, with concrete results, such as a Phase 1 network and joint EU-IMI submissions. This partnership with The Hamner is a logical next step to forge stronger links with the U.S. and also to complement our existing initiatives in China."

"The partnership with the Oslo Cancer Cluster, a world leader in cancer research and technology development, is a key link in a shared Global Biosciences Gateway and strategy to accelerate the development of new cancer therapeutics worldwide," said William Greenlee, CEO of The Hamner. "The ability we now have to identify and capture cutting-edge cancer research in Europe and China will not only benefit patients, but also will be an important driver for business and economic development in our respective countries."

ABOUT THE HAMNER INSTITUTES FOR HEALTH SCIENCES:

The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences is strategically located on a 56-acre campus in the heart of Research Triangle Park, N.C.  As a cross-disciplinary nonprofit organization, The Hamner Institutes acts as a catalyst to facilitate technology development among North Carolina universities, while serving as a gateway to establish research collaborations with the bio/pharmaceutical industry and countries in Europe and Asia.  The Hamner Institutes also has an Accelerator to support emerging companies and a new Institute for Translational Medicine to enhance its research in oncology, diabetes, and respiratory diseases. www.thehamner.org.

ABOUT OSLO CANCER CLUSTER:

Oslo Cancer Cluster NCE is a biotech cluster organization that is committed to improving the lives of cancer patients by accelerating the development of new cancer diagnostics and medicines. The cluster gained the status of Norwegian Centre of Expertise in 2007, and long term governmental co-funding. The cluster builds on Norway's unique infrastructure, from biobanks to extensive patient registries, that accelerates translational cancer research. In June 2008, Genome Technology named Oslo (along with North Carolina) as one of the 20 best places for biotech in the world. www.oslocancercluster.no  

    
    
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SOURCE The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences