Press Release: Finalists Announced for CureAccelerator Live! for Rare Diseases Competition

Adult, Clinical Trials, Dr. Nichols, Drug, Oncology, Pediatric, Rare Disease, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Finalists Announced for CureAccelerator Live! for Rare Diseases Competition

Pitch Event on June 6 in Philadelphia Features 4 Clinical Repurposing Projects

April 3, 2019

Cures Within Reach, a leading global nonprofit focused on repurposing research as a fast track to impacting patients, is holding CureAccelerator Live! for Rare Diseases, its unique philanthropic pitch competition, on June 6, 2019 in Philadelphia, PA.

Researchers and clinicians from 4 institutions, from across the US and from Italy, will present their clinical repurposing research projects to community members representing pharma, biotech, academia, medicine, philanthropy and patient groups. The winning project will be selected by attendees that evening to receive up to $50,000 in funding.

Cures Within Reach has partnered with Global Genes (https://globalgenes.org/) to hold this competition during the opening of the RARE Drug Development Symposium with UPenn Medicine Orphan Disease Center. More info on this event is at https://globalgenes.org/event/advocacy-symposium/.

The 4 finalists invited to present their clinical trial projects are:

  • Kim Nichols, MD from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital presenting “Repurposing a blood cancer drug to treat an immune disorder in children”
  • Alessandra Renieri, MD, PhD from University of Siena presenting “Repurposing a generic diurectic to treat Alport Syndrome”
  • Kevin Winthrop, MD, MPH from Oregon Health and Science University presenting “Repurposing a leprosy drug to treat a rare lung infection”
  • Stephen Wong, PhD from Houston Methodist Research Institute presenting “Repurposing a heart failure drug for pediatric brain cancer”

“One in 10 people suffer from a rare disease, and repurposing research has the power to find new treatments for these patients, children and adults alike,” said Clare Thibodeaux, PhD, Director of Scientific Affairs at Cures Within Reach. “Our 4 finalists will present innovative approaches to addressing rare diseases by leveraging existing science and medicine. We can’t wait to showcase these clinical trials demonstrating positive patient impact through repurposing.”

Early bird pricing for the Rare Disease-focused CureAccelerator Live! is available until May 6, 2019, when prices increase. For tickets, visit goo.gl/kx35sc. For more information about the event, visit https://cureswithinreach.org/cal-rare.

Support for the CureAccelerator Live! for Rare Diseases event is from industry partners Horizon Pharma and Recordati Rare Diseases, with additional support from the Judy Hirsch Foundation.

The June 6 CureAccelerator Live! event will be Cures Within Reach’s fifth time holding this philanthropic pitch competition. A CureAccelerator Live! for the Developing World is taking place in Boston on May 23. The winner of the 2016 CureAccelerator Live! event led a clinical trial at the University of Illinois at Chicago that combined an approved medical device with a generic drug to repair vascular damage caused by chronic limb ischemia. The 2017 CureAccelerator Live! winner is currently conducting a clinical trial at the University of Michigan that repurposes drugs to help treat metastatic thyroid cancer. The 2018 CureAccelerator Live! winning project repurposes a multiple sclerosis drug in severe limb trauma at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. Additional information on these projects is at: https://www.cureswithinreach.org/research/current-research.

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