Media Advisory - Personalized medicine: it's in our DNA!

Genome Québec to host international human genomics research experts at the International Economic Forum of the Americas

MONTREAL, June 9 /CNW Telbec/ - Génome Québec, as partners of the International Economic Forum of the Americas, in collaboration with CePMed and Montréal InVivo, are organizing two conferences on personalized medicine, June 10, 2010. Dr. Leroy Hood, President, Institute for Systems Biology and Mr. Edward Abrahams, President, Personalized Medicine Coalition, both from the United States, will present their views and discuss the remarkable development: "Personalized medicine: stakes and opportunities".

According to Dr Leroy Hood, "Medicine will begin to get more predictive and personalized over the next five to 10 years. First, doctors will be able to sequence the genome of each patient, which together with other data will yield useful predictions about his or her future health; it will be able to tell you, for example, that you have a 30 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer before age 30."(1)

Dr. Catalina Lopez-Correa, Chief Scientific Officer at Genome Québec confirmed: "Other prominent international experts will also address the issues of "Health and Innovation" in human genomics and outline the challenges in terms of economics, human health discoveries and integration lying ahead to move forward on personalized medicine."

    
    What:  Plenary session: "Personalized medicine: stakes and opportunities"
           Forum: "Health and innovation"

    Who:   Six internationally-renowned experts and researchers working in
           the fields of genomics and personalized medicine

           - Leroy Hood, President, Institute for Systems Biology, United
             States

           - Edward Abrahams, President, Personalized Medicine Coalition,
             United States

           - Raju Kucherlapati, Paul C. Cabot Professor of Genetics, Harvard
             Medical School, United States

           - Sharon Terry, President and Chief Executive Officer, Genetic
             Alliance, United States

           - Michael Goldman, Executive Director, Innovative Medicines
             Initiative, Belgium

           - Ryan Phelan, president, DNA Direct, United States

    When:  June 10, 2010 from 9h00 to 12h00

    Where: Hilton Bonaventure, Room Mont-Royal, 900 de la Gauchetière
           street West, Montreal
    

Many observers and experts believe Canada has opportunities to develop unique approaches to personalized medicine, given its universal health care coverage, international leadership in human genetic research and access to provincial health databases for evaluation of safety and effectiveness of therapeutic interventions.

"P4 medicine (predictive, personalized, preventive and participatory) will have a big impact on many industries, including pharmaceuticals, food and insurance, as well as health care. The interesting question is whether preexisting businesses and entrenched bureaucracies will be able to respond to these winds of change, or whether a host of new companies will emerge to replace them-focused precisely on these new opportunities" wrote Dr. Hood in Newsweek Magazine last year.

    
    About Génome Québec
    -------------------
    

Through the partnerships with key players in life sciences on national and international levels, Génome Québec contributes to strengthening the competitiveness of the system for innovation in genomics. The objective is to maximize the socioeconomic impact in Québec, by funding major genomics research initiatives and putting in place the tools necessary for scientific and strategic development in the field.www.genomequebec.ca

    
    About the International Economic Forum of the Americas
    ------------------------------------------------------
    

The Forum, who attracts more than 3,000 participants annually, is committed to heighten knowledge and awareness of the major issues of economic globalization, to foster exchanges of information, to promote free discussion on major current economic issues and to facilitate meetings between world leaders to encourage international discourse by bringing together Heads of State, the private sector, international organizations and civil society. This year, this prestigious event will take place at the Hilton Bonaventure, Montréal, from June 7 to 10. Génome Québec is the proud partner of the 16th edition of the International Economic Forum of the Americas. www.conferencedemontreal.com

1. A Doctor's Vision of the Future of Medicine, Dr. Leroy Hood, Newsweek Magazine, July 13, 2009

For further information: Evelyn Dubois, [phone], [phone], [email protected]; Jacques C. Gagnon, [phone], [phone], [email protected]