Foundation Medicine has a big IDEA—Improving Diagnostics Education and Awareness—and, now, it's handing out a new grant attached to the program.
Specifically, the Boston-based precision medicine company is sending out a grant via IDEA to My Style Matters, a women and girls cancer nonprofit, and H.Y.P.E. to Empower, an HIV health education and advocacy group.
The grant, the financials of which were not shared, will fund the Community Outreach for Detection and Education (C.O.D.E.) program. The initiative seeks to boost access to biomarker testing in Black, Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities.
It breaks down to a two-phase, 14-week health equity initiative for 48 Black, Latinx or LGBTQ+ individuals across metro Atlanta. The program participants will become both “digital and on-the-ground advocates for biomarker testing and precision medicine," according to a statement from the company.
The goal is to reach 5,000 individuals through the advocates, in turn raising awareness, access and use of biomarker testing for those impacted by breast, lung, prostate and colorectal cancers.
“At Foundation Medicine, we believe everyone should benefit from precision medicine, but we know that each new medical advancement can inadvertently create gaps that leave some without access to this innovation,” Jennifer Romans, senior vice president of corporate affairs at Foundation Medicine, said in a statement.
“That’s why we are proud to partner with organizations like My Style Matters and H.Y.P.E. to Empower that have strong histories of working directly in underserved communities," Romans continued. "With programs tailored to increasing awareness, education and access to high-quality biomarker testing, together we can transform lives in cancer care and beyond.”
Foundation Medicine sells a growing number of cancer tests and diagnostics as well as biopharma research services.