Myeloma Institute at UAMS Generates $166 Million To State Economy; Draws Patients from Around the World
LITTLE ROCK – The Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) contributes more than $166 million annually to the Arkansas economy, according to a report released today.
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Currently housed in the Arkansas Cancer Research Center at UAMS, the Myeloma Institute is the world’s largest center for the treatment of multiple myeloma, a relatively uncommon form of cancer. According to the study by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Institute for Economic Advancement, more than 1,600 patients are treated by the institute annually. The majority of those patients are from outside of Arkansas, with an average of one person accompanying each patient. Combined, an average of 3,312 people come to Little Rock each year in conjunction with visits to the institute, usually staying a total of three months.
The more than $166 million is comprised of $60.8 million for hospital activities (including salaries and items necessary for hospital functions), $81.6 million in direct expenditures by the staff and the institute (including $48.8 million spent on research and medical care) and $23.7 million in spin-off effects (services and goods provided by vendors in response to the institute’s activities).
Bart Barlogie, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Myeloma Institute, said the report demonstrated the importance of the institute to UAMS and the state. “Our program continues to grow each year as word spreads about our success rate in treating myeloma. I am committed to staying at UAMS. I am very proud of the staff and their commitment to our patients and the institute. I look forward to many more years of working with them
and the people who have come from all over the world for treatment here in Little Rock,” Barlogie said.
I. Dodd Wilson, M.D., chancellor of UAMS, said the Myeloma Institute’s continual growth spurred the decision to move the program to the newly completed Jackson T. Stephens Spine and Neurosciences Institute.
“When we review all the data in this study and all that Dr. Barlogie and his team have done, it’s pretty remarkable. They are now treating more patients for multiple myeloma than anywhere else in the world, and UAMS is fortunate to have the world’s leading researcher in the field in Bart. We are now creating a permanent home for the institute in the spine center. With multiple myeloma’s direct connection to the spine and skeletal system, this is a perfect fit,” Dr. Wilson said.
Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy patients have a longer-than-average survival rate due to the institute’s unique approach to treatment of the disease. Multiple myeloma patients receiving conventional therapies survive an average of 2 ½ to 3 years following diagnosis while patients at the institute have achieved a survival rate of between 6 to 7 years, according to the institute’s latest figures.
UAMS, one of five campuses within the University of Arkansas System, and its affiliates, Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, generate more than $1 billion of direct impact and more than $3 billion of indirect impact on the Arkansas economy, according to the UALR Institute for Economic Advancement.