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AbbVie , a global biopharmaceutical company, life-sciences startup Genomics Medicine Ireland Limited (GMI), and WuXi NextCODE, the global contract genomics organization announced the launch of a long-term strategic alliance to conduct population genomics research in Ireland aimed at advancing the discovery and development of novel therapeutic approaches to a range of serious diseases.
The 15-year collaboration will focus on major chronic diseases within oncology, neuroscience and immunology that affect hundreds of thousands of people in Ireland and hundreds of millions worldwide. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The alliance will result in the sequencing of 45,000 genomes from volunteer participants across Ireland to seek novel insights into the biological processes that underlie complex disease. AbbVie will use the research database developed by GMI to identify new molecular approaches for therapeutic drug discovery and development as well as to develop companion diagnostics. The alliance builds on AbbVie’s substantial existing presence in Ireland, which includes more than 600 employees and investments of more than $130 million since 2013.
“Genomics is transforming the way we understand some of the world’s most devastating diseases and enabling the discovery of new approaches that have the potential to deliver much greater benefit to patients,” said Jim Sullivan, Ph.D., vice president, pharmaceutical discovery, AbbVie. “This alliance is an important part of our research strategy and complements our significant footprint here in Ireland.”
Daniel Crowley, acting CEO of GMI, commented: “This partnership validates the vision that created Genomics Medicine Ireland. With AbbVie and WuXi NextCODE we will leverage our deep expertise in life sciences and the unique characteristics of the Irish population to discover critical insights into disease, disease progression, and therapeutic response. The resulting therapies to cure and prevent these diseases will benefit patients both here in Ireland and around the world.”
“We are very proud to be a part of delivering this pathbreaking effort,” said Hannes Smarason, COO of WuXi NextCODE. “As the leading infrastructure provider for population precision medicine projects around the world, we are committed to bringing WuXi NextCODE technology and expertise to this significant endeavor.”
About AbbVie
AbbVie is a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 following separation from Abbott Laboratories. The company’s mission is to use its expertise, dedicated people and unique approach to innovation to develop and market advanced therapies that address some of the world’s most complex and serious diseases. Together with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pharmacyclics, AbbVie employs more than 28,000 people worldwide and markets medicines in more than 170 countries. For further information on the company and its people, portfolio and commitments, please visit www.abbvie.com
About Genomics Medicine Ireland
Founded in 2015, Genomics Medicine Ireland (GMI) is an Irish life-sciences company leading large-scale, population-based genome research studies on the island of Ireland examining the relationship between genetics, health and disease. It is building a preeminent disease-specific database of population genomics. GMI works in collaboration with clinicians, patients, academic researchers and global biotech and pharmaceutical sectors to discover pathways to new treatments and new diagnostics for people both here in Ireland and around the world.
GMI’s partners include investors ARCH Venture Partners, Polaris Partners, GV (formerly Google Ventures), the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, and corporate partner Amgen and its subsidiary deCODE genetics. Collectively, they bring multi-decade experience in disease genomics to GMI. www.genomicsmed.ie
About WuXi NextCODE
WuXi NextCODE is a fully integrated global contract genomics organization. With offices in Shanghai; Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Reykjavik, Iceland, we offer comprehensive services that enable population, precision medicine, diagnostics and wellness initiatives and enterprises to use the genome to improve health around the world. Our capabilities span study design, sequencing, secondary analysis, storage, and interpretation and scalable analytics – all backed by the most proven and widely used technology for organizing, mining and sharing genome sequence data. We are also applying the same capabilities to advance a growing range of sequence-based tests and scans in China. WuXi NextCODE is a subsidiary of WuXi AppTec. Visit us on the web at www.wuxinextcode.com
Contacts:
Genomics Medicine Ireland
Celine Crawford
MKC Communications
celine@mkc.ie
+353 1 703 8600
WuXi NextCODE
Edward Farmer, PhD
EVP, Communications and New Ventures
efarmer@wuxinextcode.com
+1 781 775 6206
