London, Ont. - On June 10, 3M Canada announced a combined donation of $600,000 supporting personalized medicine at London Health Sciences Centre and molecular imaging at St. Joseph's Health Care London. The gift will help researchers and doctors at both hospitals to improve patient care and outcomes.
At London Health Sciences Centre, $300,000 will support the purchase of key laboratory positions and advanced technology for genomic diagnostics in Canada's first hospital-wide implementation of personalized medicine.
Under the leadership of world-renowned clinical pharmacologist Dr. Richard Kim, the Personalized Medicine Program is focused on understanding the genetic differences between individuals and, in doing so, providing the right dose of the right medicine at the right time for every patient.
3M's gift will enable the next phase of a personalized medicine approach to be deployed hospital-wide, starting with important medicines like warfarin.
"This 3M gift will help us transform the model of care, using personalized gene testing for precise diagnostics to increase patient safety and quality of care," says LHSC President and CEO Murray Glendining. "Dr. Kim's work also has the potential to reduce in-hospital stays."
3M Canada's $300,000 donation to St. Joseph's Health Care London will fund a Research Chair in Molecular Imaging at St. Joseph's, advancing research into accurate diagnosis for many areas of care, including cancer, cardiovascular health, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disease - helping determine the best treatment options, earlier.
"Molecular imaging is a key enabler of 'precision medicine' -- interventions targeted to an individual patient's unique genetic makeup", says Dr. Gillian Kernaghan, president and CEO of St. Joseph's Health Care London. "Through 3M Canada's leadership support, we will advance knowledge at the very earliest stages of disease, so that we can deal with it quickly and effectively."
Following the 3M philosophy of applying science to life, the work supported by this donation will increase the precision of medical treatments, helping patients in London and beyond.
"We are proud to be able to contribute to the advancement of precision medicine here in Canada," says Paul Madden, president, and general manager, 3M Canada. "At 3M we believe that science is just science until you use it to improve the world. Each of these programs do just that - they apply advanced diagnostics to a combination of expertise and technology for the delivery of exceptional care."