Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Announces New Data From CoMMpass Study™ Is Now Available For Public Access On The Researcher Gateway

Press Release | MMRF Researcher Gateway, Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation | December 4, 2014

Unique public access to patient-level biomarker and clinical data from landmark longitudinal study of people diagnosed with multiple myeloma

Norwalk, Conn., Dec. 4, 2014 – The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) announced today that new data from the landmark CoMMpass Study™ is now available to researchers via the MMRF’s Researcher Gateway, an online, open-access portal designed to make key genomic and clinical data publically available for additional study.

The Gateway provides access to clinical and molecular data for myeloma that has not been previously captured, including baseline bone marrow and blood samples; correlating clinical data; treatments and responses; quality of life data and extensive molecular profiling. Genomics data from 92 patients and clinical data from 292 patients enrolled in the CoMMpass Study is now available.

“We are committed to facilitating the open and rapid communication of scientific findings resulting from our clinical genomics research,” said Dr. Fiona An, Senior Vice President for Clinical Development of MMRF. “Multiple myeloma is an extremely complex and heterogeneous disease. By centralizing this data and sharing it with researchers worldwide, MMRF is helping to accelerate the discovery of individualized treatment approaches, biomarkers, diagnostics and new drug targets for people diagnosed with multiple myeloma.”

CoMMpass is a longitudinal study of patients with newly-diagnosed active multiple myeloma. The goal is to map each patient’s genomics profile to clinical outcomes to develop a more complete understanding of patient responses to treatments. A cornerstone of the MMRF’s Personalized Medicine Initiative, the study will collect and analyze tissue samples and genetic information from approximately 1,000 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients for at least eight years.

The MMRF Researcher Gateway shares data from the CoMMpass Study that is designed to show what treatments are used most often as first and subsequent lines of therapy, and to correlate this information with critical therapeutic response criteria including best responses achieved, overall survival, time to disease progression and quality of life measures. It is also powered to track treatment data to correspond with genetic information such as mutations and translocations (the movement of a chromosomal segment from one position to another, a phenomenon that often occurs in cancer). Researchers who access the MMRF Researcher Gateway can combine and analyze this information in different cohorts of their choosing, as well as share their findings with colleagues in the same or other centers, for collaboration worldwide.

“The open availability of the data to researchers fosters the development of novel hypotheses about the disease, encourages valuable analyses and offers new ways for researchers to evaluate treatment efficacy in different patient populations over time, among other variables,” said Dr. An.

About the MMRF Researcher Gateway
The MMRF Researcher Gateway is a revolutionary information ecosystem accessible to all scientists, intended to drive discoveries in multiple myeloma. A first-in-class, publicly shared database, it uploads and provides access to genomic and other information from the landmark CoMMpass Study as it becomes available. To register for access to The Gateway, visit research.themmrf.org.

About Multiple Myeloma (MM)
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a cancer of the plasma cell. It is the second most common blood cancer. An estimated 24,050 adults (13,500 men and 10,550 women) in the United States will be diagnosed with MM in 2014 and an estimated 11,090 people are predicted to die from the disease. The five-year survival rate for MM is approximately 43%, versus 28% in 1998.

About the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF)
The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) was established in 1998 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization by twin sisters Karen Andrews and Kathy Giusti, soon after Kathy’s diagnosis with multiple myeloma. The mission of the MMRF is to relentlessly pursue innovative means that accelerate the development of next-generation multiple myeloma treatments to extend the lives of patients and lead to a cure. As the world’s number-one private funder of multiple myeloma research, the MMRF has raised $275 million since its inception and directs nearly 90% of total budget to research and related programming. As a result, the MMRF has been awarded Charity Navigator’s coveted four-star rating for 11 consecutive years, the highest designation for outstanding fiscal responsibility and exceptional efficiency. For more information about the MMRF, please visit: www.themmrf.org.