Shivom and cc-TDI to Advance Clinical Research for Hepatoblastoma & Other Rare Pediatric Diseases

Shivom Ventures Limited (“Shivom”) and Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute (“cc-TDI”) enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore a partnership for advancing clinical research and drug discovery for rare pediatric genetic diseases.

LONDON and PORTLAND – July 10, 2019 – Shivom, a biotechnology data and analysis company optimising the way DNA is shared, secured and analysed through blockchain and AI technology, has signed an MOU with cc-TDI, a unique non-profit organization focused on the ‘preclinical gap’ in childhood cancer research. The two entities will explore a partnership empower families with precision medicine solutions and community-driven data sharing for children suffering from Hepatoblastoma Tumors. This approach is the next evolutionary step of the “It’s my Data” movement that makes patients into citizen-scientists (https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204621904577014330551132036).

Through this MOU, Shivom will utilize their AI and Blockchain powered patient recruitment platform and dynamic permissions & consent features to help cc-TDI to develop preclinical and eventual clinical solutions to combat this rare disease. Hepatoblastoma is a very rare cancerous tumour that starts in the liver. This disease primarily affects children from infancy to approximately 3 years of age. To date, developing a cure or new therapies is increasingly difficult because of the lack of Hepatoblastoma Genomes sequenced, partly pertaining to how extremely rare these genomes are and the subject matter of sequencing DNA from children below the ages 5. Shivom will leverage its global affiliate network and innovative clinical research & recruitment platform to help break these barriers in order to bring awareness and help make parents and legal guardians full partners in research for cures. “Shivom is proud to support cc-TDI with its critically important drug development research work to include tackling rare pediatric diseases such as hepatoblastoma, the most common primary liver tumor diagnosed in childhood. We plan to leverage our unique technology solutions and global recruitment platform to drive awareness and ultimately aim to secure the additional datasets and tissue samples needed to advance clinical research and expedite the delivery of a cure for hepatoblastoma and other rare genetic diseases afflicting children globally.” said Henry Ines, Chief Executive Office of Shivom.

To date, cc-TDI and its colleagues worldwide have collected less than 150 children’s hepatoblastoma tumours to determine DNA mutations and RNA-based gene expression. This is significantly low; researchers need more information in order to better understand the full range of mutations in this cancer. “Hepatoblastoma can have an outstanding outcome if surgery can remove the tumor, yet for those with refractory, metastatic or relapsed disease – the options are few. The number of drug targets carefully explored for these desperate patients over ten years is less than a half-dozen, and primarily because so few datasets exist for patients with advanced disease. The voucher system to be offered by Shivom, and the way in which the Shivom platform puts patients in control of data sharing represents a cultural shift in the precision medicine and the search for hepatoblastoma cures.”

About Shivom
Shivom is a biotechnology and precision medicine company optimising the way healthcare data is shared, secured and analysed. By utilising innovative technologies such as blockchain and machine-learning algorithms, we are able to drive clinical efficiencies and democratise genomics.

Our mission is to bring exponential value to our end-users within the global genetics and precision medicine ecosystem. We believe that the unique combination of our in-depth knowledge for genomics, mixed with deep-rooted backgrounds in cryptography and AI is essential in the democratisation of genomics and healthcare data.

Learn more about our direct-to-consumer solutions here
Learn more about our genetic counselling pilot here
Learn more about the TranSYS grant here

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About Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute
The Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute (cc-TDI, www.cc-tdi.org) is a unique non-profit organization focused on the ‘preclinical gap’ in childhood cancer research. Our mission is to bridge scientific discovery and the initiation of clinical trials. Through our efforts, we will provide evidence-based testing for the selection of new drugs to be used in childhood cancer clinical trials, thus seeding pediatric Phase I and II trials. This concept was emphasized in the Institute of Medicine Report, Making Better Drugs for Children with Cancer in 2005. Our longstanding work with mouse models of brain tumors and sarcomas is the cornerstone for basic science & target discovery and our mission. The cc-TDI research team is led by Scientific Director Dr. Charles Keller who follows in the footsteps of his mentor, 2007 Nobel laureate Mario Capecchi. The cc-TDI laboratory is based on the premise of a non-profit multidisciplinary biotech and is thus located in between the Silicon Forest in Beaverton, OR (Intel Headquarters) and the Portland-area medical center. Our industrial-modern 4600 ft2 BSL wet lab facility is a former 70-year old paint factory remodeled by Nike as an off-site creative space – an ideal setting to spark innovation.