$35 Million Gift to Fight Disease Brings Major Study to NC Research Campus

Business Wire, Sept 24, 2007

Duke University to Lead Study with Key Role for University of North Carolina System

Entrepreneur David H. Murdock Provides Vision, Record Gift

KANNAPOLIS & DURHAM, N.C. -- Patients battling disease will receive additional targeted early diagnosis and treatment thanks to a landmark study announced today at the North Carolina Research Campus. The project will focus on developing more comprehensive and effective approaches to attacking maladies such as cancer, diabetes, liver disease, aging and arthritis, brain disorders and heart disease.

Duke University scientists will lead the Measurement to Understand Reclassification of Disease Cabarrus/Kannapolis (M.U.R.D.O.C.K.) Study. Researchers from the sixteen-campus University of North Carolina system will also play important roles.

Representatives from both institutions today joined David H. Murdock, chairman and owner of Castle & Cooke, Inc. and Dole Food Company, Inc., at the research campus to lay out the study's goals.

"Transformation has always been our mission at the research campus," said Mr. Murdock, who is funding the study with a personal pledge of $35 million. "This research will reinvent how scientists prevent disease and save lives. It will take patients from despair to hope. And it will establish the campus as the new destination for discovery."

Mr. Murdock's gift is the largest ever to Duke University Medical School. A podcast featuring the researchers leading M.U.R.D.O.C.K. is available at www.ncresearchcampus.net.

Campus Resources Create New Opportunities

The five-year study will significantly advance the field of translational medicine - or how scientists, doctors and entrepreneurs translate vast amounts of knowledge into real world applications. The results of the research may include everything from specialized, preventive diets to life-saving new drugs.

The key to conducting an investigation this far-reaching is the research campus. Founded by Mr. Murdock, the fast-rising life sciences center plays host to university-backed scientists, private enterprise and an array of highly specialized equipment.

"There won't be any more 'one size fits all' in patient care. This is what translational medicine is all about," said Dr. Robert Califf, M.U.R.D.O.C.K.'s lead investigator and director of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute. "This study will allow us to measure the characteristics of thousands of participants and their families over time. By measuring genes, proteins and metabolites, we aspire to be able to give advice to individuals about how to stay healthy and optimally treat illness when it occurs. Combining this information across entire counties using electronic health records, we believe we can provide much better prevention programs for the diseases that are causing death and disability."

Massive Database, Endless Possibilities

Work on the M.U.R.D.O.C.K. Study will begin with Duke's massive clinical databases and biospecimen repositories. Soon, investigators will begin enrolling study volunteers from Kannapolis and Cabarrus County. Patients who enroll may donate blood samples and other clinical data. Investigators will track the participants, studying how they respond to particular treatments. Participating local physicians will play a critical role in the research.

"Through their routine care of patients, physicians will be the closest clinical contacts for any patients enrolled in the study and the first to pinpoint any changes in patients' health," said Dr. John McHutchison, co-leader of M.U.R.D.O.C.K. and associate director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute. "The relationship between Duke and Cabarrus County physicians goes back to the early '70s when the two groups partnered to increase subspecialty training in the region."

The David H. Murdock Core Laboratory will provide the advanced equipment in genomics, proteomics and metabolomics necessary to analyze the information.

"The possibilities are almost endless. Scientists affiliated with the campus may use the study's findings to develop new drugs, which could be tested and produced at the campus," said Clyde Higgs, the campus' vice president of business development. "The campus becomes a catalyst and production-center for advances in health care as it boosts our regional economy and North Carolina's entire biotechnology corridor."

Dr. Steve Leath, vice president of research at the UNC system, added, "This project makes it clear that the bold vision for the campus is becoming a reality. We're seeing public and private universities team with business to solve complex problems. We're seeing the campus gear up to improve lives. And truly, we're seeing the future of innovation in this country and around the world."

Champion for Better Health

During his remarks, Mr. Murdock noted that the cancer-related death of his wife at a young age sparked his passion to improve the health and wellness of the world. In 2005, he unveiled plans to create the North Carolina Research Campus on the site of a shuttered textile mill.