Research-Iowa

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Funds New Scientific Grant in Iowa 

LLS Invests $46 Million in New Research Globally for Blood Cancer Cures

 

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA (December 11, 2017) – A scientist on the front lines of blood cancer research in Iowa will receive a new $600,000 grant to advance critical knowledge and help achieve cures faster, thanks to a new investment announced by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society® (LLS). The grant awarded in Iowa is part of a broader research commitment of $46 million globally by LLS as it continues to lead the charge to cancer cures through its aggressive investments.

Approximately every three minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer including leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma. In fact, blood cancers are the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S.

As the world’s largest nonprofit health organization dedicated to finding cures and ensuring access to treatments for all blood cancer patients, LLS identifies and funds the most promising blood cancer research projects in areas of unmet medical need. LLS has invested more than $1 billion in cutting edge cancer research in its nearly 70-year history.

Within the Iowa City area, LLS is funding two leading researchers. LLS will provide a new $600,000 Translational Research Program grant to Fenghuang Zhan, MD, PhD, University of Iowa. In addition to this new research commitment, LLS continues to fund a Translational Research Program grant for George J. Weiner, MD, Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa. Through Translational Research Program grants, LLS helps expedite promising research from the laboratory into clinical trials with patients.

Globally, LLS is committing $46 million for research in the most innovative science at leading medical institutions around the world. Together, these 87 new grants bring LLS’s total active research portfolio to 254 grants, more investment in blood cancer research than any non-profit agency or government agency outside of the National Institutes of Health. 

According to Louis J. DeGennaro, PhD, LLS’s president and CEO, “There is never a good time to get cancer, but it's a phenomenal time to be fighting it. LLS is doing more than any cancer non-profit to advance the next generation of blood cancer treatments and cures, and, in doing so, we are helping patients with other cancers and chronic diseases. Already in 2017, the FDA has approved 13 new blood cancer treatments or new indications, and LLS has supported virtually all of them. Our long-term vision and investment is paying off in our impact for patients.”

Here are a few highlights:

  • Precision Medicine and Immunotherapy Grants: Already a leader in innovating with precision medicine, particularly with its groundbreaking Beat AML® Master Clinical Trial, a multi-center, multi-drug clinical trial in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), LLS will now fund 23 new grants for this targeted approach to finding the right drug for the right patient at the right time. Further, to advance the revolutionary therapies that harness the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, LLS will fund 17 new immunotherapy projects.
  • Multiple Myeloma and Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Grants: Also among the 87 new research projects are novel ways to address myeloma and AML. Multiple new therapies have been approved for myeloma in the past few years, but the disease remains incurable. And after a 40-year drought, four new therapies for AML were approved in recent months, but the need remains dire.
  • Career Development Grants for the Next Generation: LLS also continues to make a significant investment in fostering the early careers of the next generation of scientists, with 36 new grants in its Career Development Program.
  • Venture Philanthropy Initiative Accelerates Drug Discovery: As part of its ambitious research agenda, LLS continues to invest approximately $10 million annually in its venture philanthropy initiative, TAP, or Therapy Acceleration Program®. Through TAP, the organization partners with biotechnology companies to accelerate development of novel therapies through clinical trials. In 2017, LLS saw two of its partnerships result in FDA approvals – one for the revolutionary chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy approach for patients with relapsed large B-cell lymphoma and the other for a novel combination therapy for AML patients. Since its inception in 2007, the TAP program has accelerated dozens of projects from preclinical work into clinical trials where the therapies are being tested in patients.

To learn more about LLS’s research commitments, please click here: 

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society® (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Rye Brook, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit LLS.org. Patients should contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.

 

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