Groupon founder Eric Lefkofsky's cancer startup Tempus is finally out of stealth, and it announced a partnership with Northwestern to use data to provide customized treatment for cancer patients.
Earlier this summer Chicago Inno broke the news that Lefkofsky was quietly working on Tempus, a health-tech startup that is "building the infrastructure to modernize cancer treatment," according to its website. Based out of 600 W. Chicago, where Groupon, Lightbank, Drivin and Lekofsky's other ventures are located, Tempus is using genomic sequencing to help doctors make real-time, personalized customer treatment decisions.
In a Thursday news release, Tempus announced a partnership with the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University to provide "precision medicine" to cancer patients. Tempus will handle genomic sequencing and analysis as part of Lurie Cancer Center's new OncoSET initiative, the company said.
"We have built a platform to modernize cancer care by merging powerful analytics with cutting edge bioinformatics to empower physicians to make data-driven decisions tailored to each patient," Lefkofsky said in a statement. "With thousands of clinical trials opening all the time, and with advances in targeted therapies, including the emergence of immunotherapies, it is more important than ever to understand what is happening to a patient at a molecular level."
Lurie Cancer Center's OncoSET initiative was launched by Northwestern to provide personalized care and customized treatments for patients with cancer. It's using genomic sequencing and molecular analysis with pathology to identify new, individually tailored treatments and clinical trials for patients, according to the news release.
We have built a platform to modernize cancer care by merging powerful analytics with cutting edge bioinformatics
"Lurie Cancer Center launched OncoSET to deliver personalized, effective cancer treatments to patients who currently have limited options," Leonidas Platanias, Director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, said in the statement. "In the rapidly evolving landscape of precision medicine, our ability to leverage Tempus' expertise in bioinformatics and technology infrastructure will be a major asset in OncoSET's arsenal of targeted therapies and novel clinical trials."
Using a machine learning platform, Tempus says it can gather large amounts of molecular data and make patient-specific treatment decisions. The idea is to create better treatment plans for cancer patients by providing treatment plans that specific to their tumor.
Cancer treatment is may seem like a departure from Groupon and other ventures Lefkofsky has tackled in the past. But, through the Lefkofsky Family Foundation, he's donated millions to cancer research, including $1 million to the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center last November.
