Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), which is popularly known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, has become part of the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) Avatar Research Program. The company will work hand in hand with Moffitt Cancer Center, a subsidiary of M2Gen. ORIEN Avatar Research Program, which was launched in April 2016, seeks to advance collaborative efforts among key stakeholders in cancer research. Apparently, there are millions of cancer patients who are willing to share the goal of discovering and developing novel therapies that will match alternative options.

In acknowledgment of the efforts between the two companies, William Dalton, founder, and CEO of M2Gen, which is a leading health informatics solutions company said, “We are thrilled to once again be working with Merck, who we view as a founding partner in Total Cancer Care. We look forward to the next chapter in our shared mission to transform the way in which we diagnose study and treat cancer patients.”

The ORIEN Avatar Research Program links pharmaceutical companies and cancer centers

Merck is the third pharmaceutical program to join ORIEN Avatar. The program, which has 15 cancer hospital members, brings together pharma partners where they interact with ORIEN members. Their efforts help in generating data, which help in accelerating the discovery and provision of information required by cancer patients.  That means it the program operates on a secure and innovative collaborative environment. Through the Total Cancer Care Protocol participating cancer researchers obtain samples of study from consenting patients.

The MD and Vice President Clinical Research, Oncology Early Development, Merck Research Laboratories, Eric Rubin says that they are optimistic of being able to advance and characterize new ways to guide treatment decisions. This will in return help in the improvement of outcomes for patients receiving immunotherapy.

Merck’s participation in the program builds on a history of collaboration

An earlier five-year partnership with Merck came to a halt in 2012 prompting M2Gen to pick on individual projects with Merck between 2012 and 2016.  This is a clear indication that Merck has built a history of collaboration for itself.  Given the presence of a rich network of potential collaborators, it is expected that researchers will now improve on their clinical developments of novel cancer therapeutics. Meanwhile, Merck’s stock closed at $60.11 a decline of $0.02 or 0.03%.