Berg, a biopharmaceutical company researching health solutions through a data-driven, biological research approach, has partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) under a cooperative R&D agreement with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences' (USU) Center for Prostate Disease Research (CPDR) and The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF) for prostate cancer research.

HJF has developed a prostate cancer database within the DoD, with approximately 27,000 prostate subjects enrolled to date, and currently operates a prostate cancer clinical trials center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. USU students primarily are active-duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service who have received specialized education in tropical and infectious diseases, preventive medicine, traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic stress, disaster response and acute trauma.

"This collaboration marries CPDR's prostate cancer expertise and Berg's ability to drive a deeper level of biological understanding,” said Niven R. Narain, co-founder, president and chief technical officer of Berg. “Together, we have the potential to change the meaning of a prostate cancer diagnosis, and hopefully prognosis, while exemplifying how industry and government can work together to enact real change in public health."

Berg and the CPDR will take a data-driven approach to drive molecular intelligence of prostate cancer by uncovering more accurate biomarkers and better therapies for patients. Berg will lend its expertise in computational biology and its proprietary Interrogative Biology Platform to analyze the CPDR's extensive supply of prostate cancer data.