Nashville Biosciences (NB), a wholly owned subsidiary of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), has announced a partnership with five major pharmaceutical companies to form the Alliance for Genomic Discovery.  BioTN and Life Science Tennessee applaud this momentous transaction and its promise to change the future of medicine and, specifically, Tennessee’s direct involvement in the creation of such a monumental opportunity for our industry. The five pharma companies in this effort include Abbvie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer and Merck.  Illumina had previously announced its alliance with NB.  The partnership provides funding to whole-genome sequence (WGS) at least 250,000 DNA samples, each tied to de-identified electronic medical records, to create the world’s largest database of its kind. These data will greatly accelerate development of new therapeutics and diagnostics for human disease and expand the diversity of genomic data through equitable sourcing.

“By leveraging VUMC’s genomic and bioinformatics data, Nashville Biosciences will provide a roadmap for companies that will change medicine for decades to come,” said Dr. Samuel Lynch, DMD, DMSc, founder and chairman of BioTN Foundation and member of member of Life Science Tennessee. “This historic partnership will make data collected in Tennessee the reason millions of lives are saved across the world.”

As a member of the Boards of Directors for both NB and VUMC, Dr. Lynch advised NB’s and VUMC’s executive management on the transaction, providing strategic insights that culminated in the signing of this partnership.

Abby Trotter, executive director of Life Science Tennessee and BioTN, states about the new initiative: “Because of Tennessee visionaries stemming from Vanderbilt and Nashville, along with the shared vision of some of the world’s most innovative pharmaceutical companies, promising new technologies are in the horizon to help treat unmet medical conditions. It’s an exciting time to be in the life science industry in Tennessee.”

Read more about the historic partnership: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-alliance-for-genomic-discovery-announces-founding-biopharma-members-abbvie-amgen-astrazeneca-bayer-and-merck-301879225.html