Health insurer Centene has pledged $100 million to Washington University in St. Louis to advance research on personalized treatments for conditions like Alzheimer's, breast cancer, diabetes and obesity.
The 10-year deal will help support Washington University's personalized medicine initiative, which aims to find and develop customized disease treatments and prevention for patients.
Any innovation that is discovered from the research will be commercialized through a joint venture between the school and Centene.
"We believe personalized medicine is the path to ensure patients get the targeted healthcare they need to fight disease, and we look forward to partnering with such a renowned medical school to initially focus on four diseases that impact millions of Americans, including many of our health plan members," said Michael Neidorff, chairman and CEO of Centene.