The University of Oxford is partnering with the Chan Soon-Shiong Institute for Molecular Medicine (CSSIOMM) to establish the first center in the U.K. designed to support the delivery of individualized, data-driven molecular-based medicine for NHS cancer patients. The new center, dubbed the Chan Soon-Shiong Oxford Center for Molecular Medicine (CSSOCMM), will be collaborating with the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. 

The Chan Soon-Shiong Institute is initially investing $50 million to advance clinical cancer care in the U.K. through genomic and proteomic-driven diagnoses. These funds, CSSIOMM says, will provide doctors with large-scale sequencing capabilities for patient-level genomic, epigenomic, proteomic, and digital pathology data capture as well as tools and supercomputing technology to help clinicians make decisions regarding cancer treatments.

The CSSOCMM will be co-located with a new Precision Cancer Medicine Institute also announced today, where the clinical applications of its research will happen. It will also have links with the Target Discovery Institute and Big Data Institute, all of which are a part of an investment in cancer diagnosis and treatment being made by the University of Oxford over the next five years.

“Along with the University of Oxford, we are living our commitment to clinicians and patients alike,” commented Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D., founder and chairman of CSSIOMM, in a statement. “Using the most advanced, sophisticated tools imaginable, we’re on a mission to solve the mystery of cancer, and establish an adaptive learning system where the power of one can inform many.”

“This investment highlights the international confidence in the UK’s ability to develop better and more personalized cancer treatments that can make a real difference to patients—especially in rare disease and cancer,” George Freeman, the U.K.'s Minister for Life Sciences, commented about the announcement at a press conference in London. “The Prime Minister and I are determined to make Britain the best place in the world to discover and develop 21st century medicines.”

This is CSSIOMM's third partnership this year; the Providence Health System and Phoenix Children's Hospital have also received CSSIOMM grants within the past six months.

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