The Research Institute, established in November 2005 in affiliation with the Virginia G. Piper Cancer center, the first multidisciplinary cancer center in Phoenix, initially focused on cancer research and the development of new therapies. (Photos Courtesy: HonorHealth/DigitalFreePress)
A look at the steadfast dedication of the HonorHeatlh Research Institute
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The HonorHealth Research Institute provides access to leading-edge treatments and therapies for critically ill patients who previously may have been told to make necessary arrangements because there wasn’t an available treatment.
“The worst thing patients can hear is their case is too challenging and that, while there may be something in 10 years or so that can help, right now, there really isn’t anything,” says Mark Slater, Ph.D., vice president of research at HonorHealth, and CEO of HonorHealth Research Institute. “Patients were being sent elsewhere if they had complex cancers or difficult illnesses – we’re changing that. Now, we can offer the latest options to give them hope and the possibility of extending their lives and quality of life.”
The early years at the HonorHealth Research Institute
The Research Institute, established in November 2005 in affiliation with the Virginia G. Piper Cancer center, the first multidisciplinary cancer center in Phoenix, initially focused on cancer research and the development of new therapies. Since then, it has expanded to offer clinical and translational research, as well as novel treatment options, for a wide array of illnesses and conditions beyond cancer. These include cardiovascular disease, trauma, neurosciences, GI and bariatrics, treating patients from all 50 states and more than 30 nations.
“The human genome project at the National Institutes of Health created great enthusiasm about personalized care based on an individual’s biology,” Dr. Slater adds. “The problem was: no one really knew how to do it and how to transfer that to patients. HonorHealth Research Institute accepted that challenge and set out to combine the best science, with the best patient care, to offer hope to patients with rare, challenging and difficult-to-treat illnesses by shortening the time from research to bedside.”
An idea in search of a leader
Since the mid-80s, Dr. Slater was a fixture in southern California as a full-time faculty member at UC San Diego School of Medicine, working with healthcare systems and biotechnology. He loved the weather, the beach and surfing in his free time, but was intrigued by HonorHealth’s new Institute, where he started in early 2007.
“HonorHealth was a big enough organization to have an impact and yet personal enough to actually get things done and make a difference for patients,” he says. “We set out to create a unique environment and ecosystem that combines the best of the world of academics, using state-of-the-art technology and talent, but bringing it closer to the patient. We could move quickly and nimbly, accelerating those innovations and getting them into doctors’ hands to make a difference for patients right here and right now in our community.”
The vision was an institute without walls, fostering collaboration with physicians, healthcare systems, the best institutions, and companies across the globe to become a destination site of choice and to accelerate medical innovations.
Breakthrough innovations at the HonorHealth Research Institute
According to Dr. Slater, the Institute’s reputation attracts patients because of the clinical trials, the technology and the experts who are making a difference.
“I’ve done clinical research for 40-plus years and the innovations we’ve seen in the last five dwarfs all of my previous years combined,” he says. “It is so energizing to me, and it’s given me a new lease on life. I can’t think of a better place to do that than here at HonorHealth. I think we can be leaders into this new Millennium, giving hope to those who may have lost it.”
Collaboration is key, and it starts at the Institute
According to Slater, it typically takes about 15 years and over $1 billion to develop a new drug. That timeline is shrinking because of the Institute. He described a study where the Institute team completed the first human work of a new treatment, joined Johns Hopkins on a larger confirmation trial, and the drug received FDA approval in less than five years.
“There’s a lot of interest in what we’re doing, and people are trying to emulate it. Others work with us because they say, ‘We can’t get this done at our place, but you can. How about we work together?’” Dr. Slater says. “We’re always open to that type of collaboration.”
Beyond routine care at the HonorHealth Research Institute
The Institute is home to 200-plus physicians and investigators with over 300 active clinical trials at any one time providing personalized care in a hybrid environment.
“Our medical team is involved across the HonorHealth system, providing world-class care,” Dr. Slater explains. “But when a patient needs super-specialized care and next-level technology, you have a team of experts who’ve been there from the beginning, sharing the knowledge and experience available from the most impactful, early-phase clinical research program in the Southwest and one of the leading ones in the country.”
Only the best science
The breakthrough treatments discovered at the Institute don’t happen in a bubble. World-class doctors and state-of-the-art technology are only part of the equation.
“We view our patients as partners in this research and development. We’re working together and they are the ones giving us valuable information as we do our work,” Dr. Slater says. “They are the test pilots, and we give them all our resources to provide the best care possible, the attention, the support and the access to these new technologies that are not generally available in regular care.”
Participation in clinical trials is voluntary and open to everyone, even patients who have not been treated before or don’t have a life-threatening illness.
“We’re always careful to not do harm and give patients full information so they can make an educated decision about their care,” Dr. Slater adds. “We disclose all that we know about available options, what the risks and potential benefits are, and if it’s a clinical trial, it’s because we don’t know whether this will help a person or not. We hope it will and have good reason to think it will, but we know every trial gets us closer to a breakthrough that benefits all patients.”
For information about HonorHealth Research Institute clinical trials, call 833-354-6667 or email clinicaltrials@honorhealth.com.
