The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and Roche Diagnostics today announced a first of its kind collaboration to develop a peer-reviewed Biomarkers Clinical Resource web portal.

"We are breaking new ground with this collaborative project," said James Creeden, MD, Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Roche Professional Diagnostics. "The goal is to fill a void in the medical community, specifically cardiology, for information about biomarkers that is both clinically relevant and scientifically fair and balanced. We are excited about this innovative resource because we believe it will give clinicians the independent information they need to practice evidence-based medicine and enhance their level of patient care."

This collaboration will include collections of case studies by leading experts and peer reviewed journal articles, with future plans of forums where practicing physicians can interface with experts in the field and gain knowledge that is immediately transferable into clinical practice.

“This is a very exciting partnership that we hope will serve as a model for collaboration between non-profit medical societies and industry,” said Jack Lewin, MD, CEO of the ACC. “I know of no other resource where physicians can access the latest information about biomarkers and apply them to clinical practice in real time. This collaboration will be a great leap forward in quality improvement.”

Support to the ACC from Roche Diagnostics will help provide the resources to create this unique educational program based out of the ACC online clinical cardiovascular information resource CardioSource.com.

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About the ACC:
The American College of Cardiology is leading the way to optimal cardiovascular care and disease prevention. The College is a 37,000-member nonprofit medical society and bestows the credential Fellow of the American College of Cardiology upon physicians who meet its stringent qualifications. The College is a leader in the formulation of health policy, standards and guidelines, and is a staunch supporter of cardiovascular research. The ACC provides professional education and operates national registries for the measurement and improvement of quality care. More information about the association is available online at www.acc.org .

About Roche

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is the world’s largest biotech company with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, virology, inflammation, metabolism and CNS. Roche is also the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics and is a pioneer in diabetes management. Roche’s personalized healthcare strategy aims at providing medicines and diagnostic tools that enable tangible improvements in the health, quality of life and survival of patients. In 2009, Roche had over 80,000 employees worldwide and invested almost 10 billion Swiss francs in R&D. The Group posted sales of 49.1 billion Swiss francs. Genentech, United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche has a majority stake in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan. For more information:www.roche.com or www.roche-diagnostics.us.