Press Release: The 2018 Global Health Repurposing Awards Honors Leaders in Cancer Repurposing

The 2018 Global Health Repurposing Awards Honors Leaders in Cancer Repurposing

Event Raises Funds to Support Cures Within Reach’s Medical Repurposing Research

June 2, 2018

Cures Within Reach, a leading global nonprofit organization focused on repurposing research as a fast track to impacting patients’ lives, hosted its 6th Annual Global Health Repurposing Awards (GHRA) on June 26, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois.

The event brought together repurposing stakeholders representing academia, industry, medicine, philanthropy, patient advocacy, government and others, who all share a commitment to delivering more treatments to more patients more quickly through repurposing. Chicago’s ABC7 News anchor Judy Hsu emceed the evening. Prior to the event, Judy reported on a local blood cancer patient from Rush University Medical Center, who took a repurposed drug that allowed her to carry a baby full term (https://www.cureswithinreach.org/abc-story-about-cwr-june-2018).

Funds raised support the mission and programs of Cures Within Reach. Since most repurposing treatments cost less than $250,000 to fund, allowing clinicians and researchers to find new uses for existing drugs, devices and nutraceuticals, Cures Within Reach research grants ranging from $20,000 to $200,000 can have a major impact on patients.

Each year, Cures Within Reach recognizes leaders in business, science, medicine and philanthropy who have made a difference in patients’ lives through repurposing. The 2018 Patient Impact Philanthropy Award went to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society; the 2018 Patient Impact Legacy Award to Novartis; and the 2018 Patient Impact Research Award to Dr. Scott J. Weir of The University of Kansas Cancer Center.

“Drug repurposing as a strategy to rapidly advance new therapeutic options has been a hallmark approach in blood cancer drug development since the repositioning of thalidomide as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of multiple myeloma and myelodysplasia in 2006,” said Louis J. DeGennaro, Ph.D., The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society President and CEO. “Many blood cancer patients have benefited from drugs developed in this way, and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has seen great value in supporting repurposing research in our pursuit of new treatments for the patients we serve.”

Novartis was selected due to its repurposing achievements by researching and developing imatinib, leading to FDA-approved therapies for several types of rare cancers, and collaborating with researchers by providing nilotinib and placebo for researchers to perform clinical studies that may help address unmet medical needs for patients living with other conditions.

“Finding new uses for FDA-approved and abandoned drugs is an integral part of our strategy to discover and develop new cancer treatments,” said Scott J. Weir, Pharm.D., Ph.D., The University of Kansas Cancer Center. “We systematically test FDA-approved drugs and abandoned drugs for activity against newly discovered cancer pathways to create opportunities to rapidly advance new cancer treatments to our patients, to identify opportunities to enhance tumor response and overcome resistance to standard-of-care agents, and to assist in validating cancer drug targets in support of our efforts to discover new anticancer agents.” Watch the video about Dr. Weir at https://cureswithinreach.org/ ghra2018-scottweir- awardee.

Cures Within Reach’s 2018 Global Partners include Goldman Philanthropic Partnerships; Horizon Pharma plc; The Kahlert Foundation; Medidata; Takeda Pharmaceuticals; and TerSera Therapeutics.2018 GHRA Sponsors included the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; Golan Christie Taglia; Novartis; RoundTable Healthcare Partners; Grund & Leavitt; PwC; Recordati Rare Diseases; Tonic BlueCommunication; The University of Kansas Cancer Center; Aptinyx; AstraZeneca; Brand Institute; CicloMed; Invision Media; Judy Hirsch Foundation; Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr; and Vetter Pharma.

To learn more about the work of Cures Within Reach, visit www.cureswithinreach.org.