Siemens, UM System, MU Health Care launch $133M precision medicine alliance

German healthcare technology company Siemens will provide $133 million worth of medical technology and equipment to boost the University of Missouri's precision medicine efforts.

Three organizations—Siemens Healthineers, the University of Missouri System and the University of Missouri Health Care—will jointly contribute to the establishment of the Alliance for Precision Health in amounts that could reach $40 million.

The new partnership will provide the latest laboratory and imaging technology for research and clinical use at the University of Missouri's NextGen Precision Health Institute, a $200 million health research facility currently under construction at the University of Missouri's flagship institution in Columbia.

The center is expected to open in the fall of 2021.

At the new center, researchers plan to focus on "bench to bedside" treatments for diseases including cancer, Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease. The building will include laboratories and classrooms for faculty and researchers, along with industry partners, to focus on precision medicine and digital health.

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The 10-year partnership agreement will focus on four areas: healthcare delivery, education and workforce development, healthcare innovation and research and collaboration to improve the quality of care for patients, including in rural Missouri, the organizations said.

Through the partnership, Siemens will provide the UM System’s four universities and MU Health Care access to advances in laboratory and imaging technology, as well as educational and training resources and digital health solutions. The UM System will use these resources to improve the quality of care, collaborate on joint innovation research projects and enhance opportunities for students by offering educational curricula and mentorship programs.

“Our vision for the entire UM System is to advance the opportunities for success and well-being in Missouri, the nation and the world through transformative teaching, research, innovation, engagement and inclusion,” UM System President Mun Choi said in a statement.

“Forming an alliance with Siemens Healthineers enables us to work toward this mission by providing our University and health system with leading-edge technology and resources, unique research and collaboration opportunities, training for the next generation of the health care workforce and expansion of our contributions to medicine and health care to rural Missouri and beyond," Choi said.

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David Pacitti, president and head of the Americas for Siemens Healthineers, said the partnership represented the largest single alliance deal in Siemens Healthineers' history.

"This unique alliance leverages the engineering expertise of Siemens Healthineers along with our innovative systems and services in tandem with the research and education acumen of the UM System and the clinical expertise of MU Health Care to both transform the way that health care is delivered and train the clinical and engineering workforce of the future," Pacitti said.

As one example of how the UM System will utilize Siemens' technology innovations, the university plans to install software called a virtual cockpit that enables radiology specialists in Columbia, Missouri, to connect remotely to scanners across the state. This technology can be valuable when more sophisticated examinations are required, allowing the provider to access superior imaging services even in remote locations.

The organizations also plan to co-develop curricula that prepare students for work in the areas of cybersecurity, data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence related to healthcare.