Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center created a subsidiary company to work with various pharmaceutical manufacturers to fuel drug research and discovery, VUMC announced April 3.
The company, Nashville Biosciences, will act as a commercial interface between VUMC and drug companies and provide those organizations with access to VUMC's genomics research and health IT resources — including its BioVU data bank, which contains more than 250,000 DNA samples coupled with 2.8 million de-identified patient records — to spur the discovery and development of new patient treatments.
VUMC already maintains working relationships with several drug companies, including Pfizer, Goldfinch Bio and Celgene Corp. Associated projects with these companies, among others, will transition to Nashville Biosciences within the coming weeks, officials said.
"Partnering with the pharmaceutical and broader life sciences industry through Nashville Biosciences will enable VUMC to expand and support its mission of advancing translational and precision medicine," said Leeland Ekstrom, PhD, COO of Nashville Biosciences.