UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FOR MEDICAL SCIENCES ADOPTS ARDAIS® BIOSPECIMEN MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

By todd

–Collaboration establishes powerful research resource for molecular-based cancer research–


 


 


Lexington, MA and Little Rock, AR, February 1, 2005 – Ardais® Corporation and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) announced today that UAMS has adopted the Ardais Corporation biospecimen management system, creating a comprehensive tissue bank for medical research.


 


The Ardais system, which enables the protocol-driven standardization of the collection, management and distribution of biological specimens for research purposes, will be implemented across UAMS.  In the past, researchers have stored specimens based on their individual studies. The Ardais system will allow researchers to access specimens stored in a suitable, stable environment and request specimens from other research facilities that use the Ardais network.


 


The system will be particularly beneficial to the Arkansas Cancer Research Center (ACRC), which currently has over $11 million per year in funding for cancer research and is the only academic cancer center in the state of Arkansas.  The tissue bank will be directed by Marwan Yared, M.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology at UAMS.


 


“Our research increasingly focuses on the molecular level to identify and validate biomarkers that can speed diagnosis and guide physicians toward the best forms of therapy,” said James Y. Suen, M.D., director of the Arkansas Cancer Research Center and professor in the Department of Otolaryngology / Head and Neck Surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine.  “By implementing the Ardais system, we will ensure that the highest quality biospecimens are collected and distributed to our researchers, thereby enabling more accurate and clinically relevant experimental results.”


 


The Ardais biospecimen management system is a business process and IT solution that meets three key needs in the marketplace.  First, it allows the rapid development of a core tissue banking capability addressing the operational, ethical, technical, resource, quality, logistics and management requirements for translational medicine research.  Second, it supports protocol-driven, multi-site collection of annotated biospecimens from patients participating in clinical trials in support of translational medicine. Third, it enables efficient linkages between medical centers that have collection capabilities and research organizations that require prospective collection of biospecimens.


 


“Ardais was founded in the belief that genomics-based research would require large numbers of ethically-sourced and high quality biospecimens annotated with clinical data, and it is now commonly acknowledged throughout the academic and commercial research community that this is the case,” said Donald B. Hawthorne, President and CEO, Ardais Corporation.  “After years of perfecting the operation of our own biorepository, Ardais is uniquely positioned to offer this system to medical institutions, biotech and pharmaceutical companies for their own rapidly-expanding biospecimen needs.  Our system is a total solution for seamless and cost-effective collection, management and distribution of high quality biospecimens.  As the network of Ardais system users expands, resources are easily shared across organizations, thereby leveraging its positive impact, while ensuring high quality biospecimens and data at all sites.” 


 


Mr. Hawthorne added: “We are proud to have esteemed institutions, such as University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, utilizing our biospecimen management system.  As our network of institutions grows, we hope to significantly enhance and accelerate the future of translational medicine.”


 


About the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences


UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, five centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has more than 2,200 students and 660 residents and is the state’s largest public employer with almost 9,000 employees. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $4.1 billion a year.


 


UAMS centers of excellence are the Arkansas Cancer Research Center, Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy and Jackson T. Stephens Spine and Neurosciences Institute. 


 


About Ardais Corporation


Ardais Corporation addresses all the challenges of biospecimen management, allowing researchers to focus solely on the research discoveries and clinical developments that will advance translational medicine.  As a pioneer in best practices for this field, Ardais has developed an end-to-end solution that permits academic and commercial scientists and clinicians to standardize and organize their biospecimen collection, archiving and access, thereby enhancing and accelerating research and clinical development.


 


The Ardais biospecimen management system, encompassing biological, informatics and engineering expertise, is a suite of software applications, operating procedures, proprietary supplies, and data standards that integrate clients’ biorepository operations at one or multiple geographic sites. For more information, visit: www.ardais.com.


 


Contacts:









Donald B. Hawthorne


Chief Executive Officer


Ardais Corporation


781-698-0100


 


Leslie Taylor


University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences


501-686-8998


leslie@uams.edu


Christine Mackenzie


Feinstein Kean Healthcare


617-761-6737


christine.mackenzie@fkhealth.com