Marsico Pancreatic Cancer Initiative at CU Anschutz expands across institutions, pairing single-cell and spatial profiles with longitudinal outcomes from the same patients to improve research and treatment outcomes.

RefinedScience today announced a multi-institutional agreement that puts the Marsico Pancreatic Cancer Initiative on track to become the world’s largest multimodal single-cell pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) dataset by the end of 2026, with contracted and partnered access to more than 2,000 consented pancreatic cancer samples from leading academic and industry sources. Pancreatic cancer is among the deadliest major cancers, in large part because the disease’s biology varies widely from patient to patient, a heterogeneity most datasets are too shallow to capture.

The access is anchored in the Marsico Pancreatic Cancer Initiative at the University of Colorado Anschutz, established with a $15 million philanthropic investment from Tom and Cydney Marsico. The initiative aims to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and next-generation data science to uncover the biological drivers of pancreatic cancer and accelerate the development of personalized therapies. It now includes a signed collaboration with the Brenden-Colson Center for Pancreatic Care at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) to obtain additional samples. Combined with RefinedScience’s existing contractual relationships with CU Anschutz and UCHealth, the company will process and release single-cell multi-omic profiles linked to matched clinical data, including treatment history and patient outcomes, under consented, IRB-governed access frameworks.

“We made this investment in the scientific and discovery process to change the trajectory of a disease that has seen too little progress for too long. Watching the initiative expand across institutions and putting this data to work for patients is exactly what we hoped for,” said Tom Marsico.

“High-quality biospecimens and clinical data are critical to advancing discoveries and new treatments for pancreatic cancer. RefinedScience has been a trusted commercialization partner for translating discoveries in single-cell and spatial profiling. We are thrilled that the RefinedScience team has added another world-class partner in OHSU,” said Kimberly Muller, Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Biotechnology, CU Anschutz.

The dataset brings together primary human tissue, longitudinal clinical data, single-cell sequencing, genomic profiling, and spatial transcriptomics to investigate disease mechanisms, identify therapeutic targets, study treatment response and drug resistance, assess which patients are likely or unlikely to respond to a therapy, and develop biomarker insights.

“Progress in pancreatic cancer research depends on studying the complexity and heterogeneity of the disease in real patients. We want researchers to be able to see what is happening in the primary human tissue at single-cell resolution and then connect that biology back to how a patient was treated and what happened over time,” said Brett Atwood, CEO of RefinedScience. “By expanding this dataset across institutions, we are building a richer foundation to understand pancreatic cancer biology and inform drug and diagnostic development.”

The announcement comes ahead of scientific and partner discussions at the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer (September 25–28, 2026, in San Diego), including a RAS inhibition plenary session presentation by Rosalie (“Rosie”) Sears, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics at Oregon Health & Science University, Co-Director of the Brenden-Colson Center for Pancreatic Care, and senior member of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. RefinedScience welcomes conversations with pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and others seeking single-cell data tied to real-world clinical outcomes in PDAC. To arrange a meeting at AACR or request access to the atlas, contact Jeff Weness, VP of Strategy and Growth at jeff.weness@refinedscience.com.

About RefinedScience

RefinedScience is a biology-first precision medicine company headquartered in Aurora, Colorado, and a joint venture between the University of Colorado Anschutz and UCHealth. RefinedScience combines access to longitudinal clinical data and primary human tissue with single-cell-resolution biology and AI-enabled analysis to support biopharma, diagnostics and AI partners across drug discovery and development. The company’s work spans oncology, immunology and other complex diseases.

About University of Colorado Anschutz

The University of Colorado Anschutz is a world-class academic medical campus at the forefront of transformative science, medicine, education, and patient care. The campus encompasses the University of Colorado health professional schools, more than 60 centers and institutes, and two nationally ranked independent hospitals - UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado, which see more than three million adult and pediatric patient visits yearly. Innovative, interconnected and highly collaborative, CU Anschutz delivers life-changing treatments, patient care, and professional training and conducts world-renowned research fueled by $890 million in annual research funding, including $762 million in sponsored awards and $128 million in philanthropic gifts.

About the Marsico Pancreatic Cancer Initiative

The Marsico Pancreatic Cancer Initiative was launched with a $15 million philanthropic investment from Tom and Cydney Marsico. The initiative supports a multi-institutional effort to build a uniquely deep pancreatic cancer dataset and use it to advance research into the biology, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease.

About Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU)

Oregon Health & Science University is Oregon's academic health center and is nationally distinguished as a research university dedicated solely to advancing health sciences. This singular purpose allows us to focus on discoveries that prevent and cure disease, on education that prepares physicians, dentists, nurses and other health professionals for the evolving health care environment, and on patient care that incorporates the latest advances. Based in Portland, we are one of Oregon’s largest employers, operate the top-ranked adult and children’s hospitals in the state, and secure competitive research funding of more than $596 million. As a public organization, we also provide services for the most vulnerable Oregonians and outreach to improve health in communities across the state.

About UCHealth

UCHealth is a nationally recognized, nonprofit health system that pushes the boundaries of medicine through advanced treatments and clinical trials, improving health through innovation and providing unmatched patient care in the Rocky Mountain West. UCHealth invests $1.3 billion in community benefits, including $570 million in uncompensated care each year. It is Colorado’s largest Medicaid provider and is dedicated to the communities it serves. With the region’s only adult academic medical center, University of Colorado Hospital on the CU Anschutz medical campus, UCHealth includes 35,000 employees, 14 acute-care hospitals, and hundreds of physicians across Colorado, Wyoming, and western Nebraska.

For more information, visit RefinedScience.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260925419551/en/

“By expanding this dataset across institutions, we are building a richer foundation to understand pancreatic cancer biology and inform drug and diagnostic development.” - Brett Atwood, CEO of RefinedScience