Newswise — HACKENSACK, NJ – May 24, 2021 – Hackensack Meridian Health, New Jersey’s largest, most comprehensive and integrated health network, and Eisai Inc., the U.S. pharmaceutical subsidiary of Eisai Co., Ltd., have entered into a research collaboration agreement that initially aims to help address the significant unmet needs of people living with Alzheimer’s disease, especially those experiencing the earliest stages of the disease, known as Mild Cognitive Impairment.
“We are proud to join forces with Eisai in our quest to expand early Alzheimer’s disease detection and improve community services for patients, caregivers and families impacted by the disease and other types of dementia,” said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO, Hackensack Meridian Health. “Hackensack Meridian Health’s mission is to transform health care and this collaboration will help us to achieve our goals and benefit our communities.’’
The organizations will support the expansion of early Alzheimer’s disease education, detection and community services for patients and caregivers, as well as evaluate emerging tools and technological diagnostic solutions through real-world, evidence-based investigation within the Hackensack Meridian Health network. The ultimate goals of this collaboration are to further enhance care plans to support patients and their caregivers in each stage of the disease and to contribute to scalable and reproducible multi-disciplinary approaches for patient identification and management in early Alzheimer’s disease.
“The collaboration with Hackensack Meridian Health is an exciting next step in both organizations’ legacy and leadership in discovering and providing solutions to people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias,” said Alexander Scott, executive vice president, Integrity at Eisai. “As part of Eisai’s human health care mission, we are dedicated to making a difference for patients and their families.”
Hackensack Meridian Health and Eisai each have unique expertise and a deep commitment to the treatment and care of Alzheimer’s disease patients and their caregivers. The Center for Memory Loss and Brain Health at Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center offers integrated, high-quality screening, diagnostic and treatment services for adults living with cognitive or memory impairment caused by conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. It is led by Manisha Parulekar, M.D., AGSF, FACP, division chief, Geriatrics; Florian Thomas, M.D., Ph.D., chair and professor, Neurology and Neuroscience Institute; Laurie G. Jacobs, M.D., AGSF, FACP, chair and professor of Medicine; and Lisa Tank, M.D., chief medical officer, Hackensack University Medical Center, who all hold faculty appointments at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.
“Both Hackensack Meridian Health and Eisai share a common goal to increase community awareness about the importance of early detection, especially in the earliest stages of cognitive loss before patients meet the criteria for a dementia diagnosis," said Dr. Parulekar. "This awareness will help improve the patient and caregiver journey for those living with memory disorders.”
For decades, Eisai has led the way in dementia research and development through scientific discovery, listening to patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals, exploring solutions outside of traditional medicinal therapies, and collaboration agreements, such as the one with Hackensack Meridian Health.
“We recognize the importance of collaborating with organizations so we can effectively improve resources and services that aim to advance brain health within our community, especially among patients and their families, caregivers and the general public,” added Dr. Thomas.
For more information about the research collaboration agreement between Hackensack Meridian Health and Eisai, please contact Ashley R. Calle, communications manager, Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation, at 201-937-2295 or [email protected], or Libby Holman, communications director, Eisai, at 201-753-1945 or [email protected].
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
Hackensack University Medical Center, a 771-bed nonprofit teaching and research hospital located in Bergen County, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in New Jersey. Founded in 1888, it was the county’s first hospital. It was the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet®-recognized hospital for nursing excellence, receiving its sixth consecutive designation in 2019 from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The academic flagship of the Hackensack Meridian Health network, Hackensack University Medical Center provides award-winning care on a campus that is home to facilities such as John Theurer Cancer Center, a consortium member of the NCI-designated Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and recognized as the #1 hospital for cancer care in New Jersey by U.S. News & World Report’s 2020-21 "Best Hospitals" Honor Roll; the Heart & Vascular Hospital; and the Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women’s and Children’s Pavilion, which houses the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital and Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital, designed in collaboration with The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center and listed on the Green Guide’s list of Top 10 Green Hospitals in the U.S. Recognized as being in the top 1% of hospitals in the nation and #2 in New Jersey by U.S. News & World Report’s 2020-21 "Best Hospitals" Honor Roll, Hackensack University Medical Center also ranked as high-performing in nine specialties: cancer care, cardiology and heart surgery, gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology, and urology. Hackensack University Medical Center’s comprehensive clinical research portfolio includes studies focused on precision medicine, translational medicine, immunotherapy, cell therapy, and vaccine development. The hospital has embarked on the largest healthcare expansion project ever approved by the state: Construction of the Helena Theurer Pavilion, a 530,000-sq.-ft., nine-story building, which began in 2019. A $714.2 million endeavor, the pavilion is one the largest healthcare capital projects in New Jersey and will house 24 state-of-the-art operating rooms with intraoperative MRI capability, 50 ICU beds, and 150 private patient rooms, including a dedicated 50-bed Orthopedic Institute. To learn more, visit www.HackensackUMC.org.
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH
Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care.
Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children’s hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals – Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin; a behavioral health hospital – Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.
Additionally, the network has more than 500 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has more than 36,000 team members, and 7,000 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.
The network’s notable distinctions include having four of its hospitals are among the top hospitals in New Jersey for 2020-21, according to U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, the health system has more top-ranked hospitals than any system in New Jersey. Children’s Health is again ranked a top provider of pediatric health care in the United States and earned top 50 rankings in the annual U.S. News’ 2020-21 Best Children’s Hospitals report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and being named to Becker’s Healthcare’s “150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare/2019” list.
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its first class of students in 2018 to its On3 campus in Nutley and Clifton. The Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI), housed in a fully renovated state-of-the-art facility, seeks to translate current innovations in science to improve clinical outcomes for patients with cancer, infectious diseases and other life-threatening and disabling conditions.
Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it.
Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.
To learn more, visit www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org.
ABOUT EISAI INC.
At Eisai Inc., human health care (hhc) is our goal. We give our first thoughts to patients and their families, and helping to increase the benefits health care provides. As the U.S. pharmaceutical subsidiary of Tokyo-based Eisai Co., Ltd., we have a passionate commitment to patient care that is the driving force behind our efforts to discover and develop innovative therapies to help address unmet medical needs. Eisai is a fully integrated pharmaceutical business that operates in two global business groups: oncology and neurology (dementia-related diseases and neurodegenerative diseases). Our U.S. headquarters, commercial and clinical development organizations are located in New Jersey; our discovery labs are in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania; and our global demand chain organization resides in Maryland and North Carolina. To learn more about Eisai Inc., please visit us at www.eisai.com/US and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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