Lung Cancer Research Foundation announces new research collaboration with Bayer Pharma – Healthcare News
The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) on Monday announced its collaboration with Bayer Pharmaceuticals to fund two research grants focused on innovative strategies to advance understanding and management of lung cancers harbouring HER2 mutations and/or other HER2 alterations.
According to foundation’s statement, this collaboration seeks to address important mechanistic questions and developmental therapeutics across the care continuum for HER2-mutant NSCLC, and has the potential to improve patient outcomes.
“LCRF is delighted to collaborate with Bayer to identify and support outstanding lung cancer research projects that will help develop treatments for this specific set of lung cancers,” says Kathryn O’Donnell, PhD, LCRF Scientific Advisory Board chair. “Expanding the treatment options available to patients affected by HER2 mutations or alterations is an important and exciting area in lung cancer research.”
“We are delighted to encourage and support groundbreaking research via this new LCRF initiative. This collaboration underscores our ongoing commitment to patients living with lung cancer, and our unwavering drive to advance precision oncology in disease areas with the highest unmet needs,” said Abdelali Majdi, MD, head of global medical affairs precision oncology & pipeline at Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Division.
Lung cancer is responsible for more deaths worldwide than any other cancer, accounting for an estimated 130,180 deaths annually in the United States alone. Globally, there are approximately 1.8 million new cases of lung cancer every year and over 1.6 million deaths. The last 10 to 15 years have seen accelerated clinical trials and regulatory approvals of targeted therapies for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in part due to advances in molecular profiling of tumours.
Immunotherapeutic strategies have not been successful in the treatment of lung cancers with genomic alterations such as HER2 mutations. It is of vital importance that there is a better understanding of the mechanism of tumour response and resistance. Moreover, given that therapeutic options available to date are not curative, there is a need for novel approaches to treat HER2-mutant lung cancers, the foundation said in a statement.
link