New alliance at Morristown Medical Center promises clinical trials of cancer treatments

From left: Atlantic CEO Brian Gragnolati, NJ Deputy Health Commissioner Deborah Hartel, Tess Burleson of TGen, Dr. Eric Whitman, Cosmo Smith of Origin, Morristown Medical Center CEO Trish O'Keefe, and Lydia Nadeau, director of oncology services, at announcement of Breakthrough Oncology Generator at Morristown Medical Center, Oct. 3, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
From left: Atlantic CEO Brian Gragnolati, NJ Deputy Health Commissioner Deborah Hartel, Tess Burleson of TGen, Dr. Eric Whitman, Cosmo Smith of Origin, Morristown Medical Center CEO Trish O'Keefe, and Lydia Nadeau, director of oncology services, at announcement of Breakthrough Oncology Generator at Morristown Medical Center, Oct. 3, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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Morristown Medical Center and its parent company, Atlantic Health, on Wednesday announced a partnership intended to bring clinical trials of new cancer treatments to area residents–in ways they can afford.

Atlantic is teaming with the nonprofit Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Origin Commercial Ventures in what they are calling a “Breakthrough Oncology Accelerator.”

TGen, affiliated with the City of Hope research institution, will recommend promising immunotherapies and other treatments for Phase I trials in Morristown and at Atlantic’s Overlook Medical Center in Summit.

Origin, a Connecticut-based company, will pursue financial strategies to minimize patient costs for experimental treatments, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Dr. Eric Whitman at announcement of Breakthrough Oncology Generator at Morristown Medical Center, Oct. 3, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Dr. Eric Whitman at announcement of Breakthrough Oncology Generator at Morristown Medical Center, Oct. 3, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

“There’s nothing worse than having to meet with a patient that last week you recommended Treatment X, and the insurance company has subsequently told you Treatment X is going to cost them this much out of pocket per month, and they just say, ‘I can’t do it.’ I can’t blame them. It’s horrible,” said Dr. Eric Whitman, Atlantic’s medical director for cancer care.

Costs may be tamed by pinpointing the most effective treatment for each patient, and avoiding costly therapies with no chance for success — the type of knowledge that can be gleaned from Phase 1 trials, Whitman said.

“You have to work towards better classifying people before you start treatment,” said the oncologist.

Atlantic CEO Brian Gragnolati said he plans to make affordable healthcare a priority when he assumes chairmanship of the American Hospital Association in January.

“The real key to all this is how do we begin to use data in a different way, so we are precise with the treatments that we are able to provide,” Gragnolati said.

“So we know the history of the patient, we know the patient’s social situation. But we also know the genotype, other clinical conditions, and we also know with a level of precision how various therapies will affect that particular patient. That ultimately is going to change how we go about doing this.”

Atlantic CEO Brian Gragnolati speaks at announcement of Breakthrough Oncology Generator at Morristown Medical Center, Oct. 3, 2018. Next to him are Tess Burleson of TGen, Dr. Eric Whitman, and Cosmo Smith of Origin. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Atlantic CEO Brian Gragnolati speaks at announcement of Breakthrough Oncology Generator at Morristown Medical Center, Oct. 3, 2018. Next to him are Tess Burleson of TGen, Dr. Eric Whitman, and Cosmo Smith of Origin. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Atlantic Health last month completed the integration of electronic records from its six hospitals, to better coordinate patient care.

In February, it helped launched a consortium of six New Jersey health systems studying how to provide efficient and affordable healthcare to their employees, as a model for the state.

‘NOT A SILVER BULLET’

While the Accelerator program won’t be limited to any specific types of cancer, Whitman said trials most likely will involve sarcomas and cancers of the blood, head, neck and pancreas — specialties of doctors in the system.

About 80 doctors in Morristown and Summit may participate, Whitman said. Fifteen clinical trials already have begun, he said.

Tess Burleson of TGen speaks at announcement of Breakthrough Oncology Generator at Morristown Medical Center, Oct. 3, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Tess Burleson of TGen speaks at announcement of Breakthrough Oncology Generator at Morristown Medical Center, Oct. 3, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

The program will strive to offer cutting-edge therapies and longterm monitoring in a community setting, sparing northern New Jersey residents trips to cancer centers in New York and Philadelphia.

Morristown Medical Center has won numerous industry awards and media plaudits, including U.S. News and World Report’s ranking as New Jersey’s top hospital.

Asked if Atlantic Health aspires to compete in the same space as major cancer centers such as Sloan-Kettering and MD Anderson, Whitman elicited laughter and applause from a roomful of Morristown staffers when he shot back: “I hope they’re able to play in our space.”

Cosmo Smith of Origin speaks at announcement of Breakthrough Oncology Generator at Morristown Medical Center, Oct. 3, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Cosmo Smith of Origin speaks at announcement of Breakthrough Oncology Generator at Morristown Medical Center, Oct. 3, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Cosmo Smith, a managing partner of Origin, expressed hopes that pharmaceutical companies and the National Cancer Institute will choose the Accelerator for research trials.

New treatments are coming rapidly; the challenge, Smith said, is delivering them within a national health system that “is not predicated on bringing access of the latest, greatest therapies to patients, at all.”

TGen is a spinoff of the Human Genome Project, which in 2003 inspired expectations of genetic cures for illnesses of all kinds.

“This tool by itself is not a silver bullet, absolutely not. Nor is any one drug,” cautioned TGen CEO Tess Burleson. But Atlantic will be contributing to research that one day may provide the answers, she said.

Deborah Hatel, NJ deputy commissioner of health, at announcement of Breakthrough Oncology Generator at Morristown Medical Center, Oct. 3, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Deborah Hartel, NJ deputy commissioner of health, at announcement of Breakthrough Oncology Generator at Morristown Medical Center, Oct. 3, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Traditionally, Phase 1 trials have tested safety of new treatments as a preliminary step in a long, expensive multi-phase journey to federal approvals. But some drugs have proven so effective at killing cancer cells that they have won approval in Phase 1, Whitman said.

Progress in the war on cancer– New Jersey’s No. 2 killer–can’t come soon enough for Deborah Hartel, the state’s deputy health commissioner.

She lost her mother to lung cancer 17 years ago, she told Wednesday’s gathering.

“For me this is very personal,” Hartel said.

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