—WIN Consortium Develops Personalized Cancer Therapies across the Globe

The Yonsei Cancer Center recently became a member of the Worldwide Innovative Networking (WIN) Consortium, which seeks to develop innovative and personalized cancer therapies across the globe. The WIN Consortium represents a global collaboration of cancer centers, life science and biotech organizations, pharmaceutical and technology companies, health plans, and patient advocacy groups. Together, these stakeholders work to address the challenge of increasing the efficacy of cancer diagnostics and therapeutics by understanding the genetics and biology of each individual’s tumor and accounting for genetic differences across diverse populations—from North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Members of the WIN Consortium include the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Pfizer and Astra Zeneca, Foundation Medicine, Oracle, GE Health Care, Sage Bionetworks, the American National Breast Cancer Foundation, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

According to Yonsei Genome Institute Director, Professor Paik Soon-myung, who serves as one of Yonsei’s WIN representatives, “the recent trend in cancer treatment is clinical applications for genomic medicine. Personalized therapy already provides access to innovative clinical trials for lung cancer and breast cancer. For other cancers, more than 100 personalized cancer therapies are being developed.” Despite such progress, Professor Paik emphasized that “most cancers include five to six oncogenes [potentially cancer-causing genes] having mutations, and thus multiple therapies need to be developed as soon as possible.”

Professor Paik also praised the collaborative nature of the WIN Consortium, as its streamlined network of academic institutions, private research firms, insurance companies, etc. removes unnecessary barriers that have often hindered the quick and efficacious development of new cancer treatments. In the words of Professor Chung Hyun-cheol from the Department of Internal Medicine, who also serves as Yonsei representative to WIN: “The development of personalized cancer therapy has not been a priority agenda in South Korea or Asia. Now, domestic cancer patient can have access to the best personalized cancer therapy through WIN's latest innovative drugs and treatments.” The Yonsei Cancer Center is expected to begin collaborative projects with the WIN Consortium later this year.