Three New Cancer Centers Join MMRF

Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute, University of Chicago and St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center
of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers of New York -- have joined the MMRC.

Joining forces with founding MMRC Member Institutions -- Dana Farber Cancer Institute, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
& Research Institute, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and University Health Network (Princess Margaret Hospital) -- researchers
from the new member institutions will conduct innovative research in the most promising areas of myeloma research:
genomics, target and compound validation and clinical trials.

The MMRC also sets itself apart with its state-of-the art tissue bank, the only repository of its kind,
which provides researchers with the critical mass of high-quality myeloma tissue needed to advance research efforts. 
With more than 300 tissue samples accrued to date under stringent Good Laboratory Practices, the MMRC Tissue Bank
serves as an important resource in enabling researchers to initiate strong pre-clinical validation efforts -- a critical step in
developing effective, targeted therapies for myeloma.

Novel Research Projects

The MMRC is now conducting several research efforts that are truly on the cutting edge of scientific
novelty and significance.  These research efforts include a pre-clinical effort to validate key targets in myeloma;
a pre-clinical study, in collaboration with a biotech partner, to validate antibodies that may represent promising
therapeutic options in myeloma; and, a Phase I trial and correlative sciences study, initiated in collaboration with
Chiron Corporation, of an FGFR3 inhibitor.