UCLA is the latest institution to join Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Immuno-Oncology Rare Population Malignancy (I-O RPM) research program in the U.S. Through the I-O RPM program, BMS and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA will conduct a range of early phase clinical studies. In addition, the company will fund positions within UCLA’s fellowship program in the UCLA Division of Hematology/Oncology.
“The I-O RPM research program is an important complement to Bristol-Myers Squibb’s broad research and development program for immuno-oncology,” said Laura Bessen, M.D., head of U.S. Medical, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “We look forward to working with UCLA in an effort to continue advancing the science in this innovative field of research and cancer treatment.”
The I-O RPM research program is a multi-institutional initiative with academic-based cancer centers focused on the clinical investigation of immuno-oncology therapeutics as potential treatment options for patients with high-risk, poor prognostic cancers, defined as a rare population malignancy. In September, Moffitt Cancer Center joined the program. Other partners include: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and the Northwestern Medicine Developmental Therapeutics Institute and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.