• SKIP TO CONTENT
  • SKIP NAVIGATION
  • Patient Resources
    • COVID-19 Patient Resource Center
    • Clinical Trials
    • Search Clinical Trials
    • Patient Notification System
    • What is Clinical Research?
    • Volunteering for a Clinical Trial
    • Understanding Informed Consent
    • Useful Resources
    • FDA Approved Drugs
  • Professional Resources
    • Research Center Profiles
    • Clinical Trial Listings
    • Market Research
    • FDA Approved Drugs
    • Training Guides
    • Books
    • eLearning
    • Events
    • Newsletters
    • White Papers
    • SOPs
    • eCFR and Guidances
  • White Papers
  • Trial Listings
  • Advertise
  • COVID-19
  • iConnect
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Home » The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society expands therapy acceleration program

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society expands therapy acceleration program

April 7, 2017
CenterWatch Staff

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) continues to advance the promising field of immunotherapy research, harnessing the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, with a $4 million funding commitment in an investigational therapy being developed by Forty Seven for lymphoma patients.

There are approximately 630,000 patients in the U.S. living with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), a diverse group of blood cancers that begin in the body’s lymphatic system. LLS’s investment will support Forty Seven’s clinical trial using an antibody therapy (Hu5F9-G4) aimed at treating two types of NHL—diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DFBCL) and follicular lymphoma (FL). DLBCL represents approximately 30% of NHL patients, with 60% of patients surviving five years after diagnosis; however, more than one-third of patients either relapse or do not respond to therapy. Approximately 25% of NHL patients are diagnosed with FL, a slow-growing form of the disease. While most patients with FL respond to initial therapy, more than 70% are diagnosed with advanced stage disease and are considered incurable.

The novel drug will be tested in combination with the FDA-approved rituximab, already part of standard treatment for several types of NHL. The therapy is directed against CD47, a protein that provides a “don’t eat me” signal to the immune system and blocks the ability of immune cells called macrophages to devour those cancer cells. The combination Hu5F9-G4 and rituximab displayed synergy in preclinical animal models of NHL.

According to LLS President and CEO Louis J. DeGennaro, Ph.D., "LLS welcomes this collaboration with Forty Seven to advance this novel immunotherapy approach. It’s critical that LLS identifies and acts on the most promising areas of cancer research, and in Forty Seven we have found a partner who is as committed to accelerating cures as we are.”

Forty Seven was founded in 2015 by Stanford University researchers Irv Weissman, M.D., and Ravi Majeti, M.D., Ph.D., both of whom have been recipients of LLS grants supporting their early work targeting CD47. Forty Seven has licensed the therapy from Stanford.

LLS is supporting the collaboration through its Therapy Acceleration Program  (TAP), a strategic initiative to partner directly with biotechnology companies to help accelerate the development of promising therapies. There are currently 16 projects supported through LLS’s TAP portfolio.

LLS supports a wide array of immunotherapy programs at major cancer research centers such as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, as well as through TAP partnerships. LLS is currently committed to more than $40 million to study novel immunotherapy approaches to controlling blood cancers.

Upcoming Events

  • 16Feb

    Fundamentals of FDA Inspection Management: Reduce Anxiety, Increase Inspection Success

  • 21May

    WCG MAGI Clinical Research Conference – 2023 East

Featured Products

  • Spreadsheet Validation: Tools and Techniques to Make Data in Excel Compliant

    Spreadsheet Validation: Tools and Techniques to Make Data in Excel Compliant

  • Surviving an FDA GCP Inspection

    Surviving an FDA GCP Inspection: Resources for Investigators, Sponsors, CROs and IRBs

Featured Stories

  • Revamp-360x240.png

    Califf Calls for Major Evidence Generation Revamp, Experts’ Opinions Differ

  • AskTheExpertsGreen-360x240.png

    Ask the Experts: Managing Investigational Products

  • SurveywBlueBackground-360x240.png

    Survey Outlines Site Challenges, Successes on Diversity

  • PatientCentricity-360x240.png

    Site Spotlight: DM Clinical Shows Patient Centricity Doesn’t Have to Break the Bank

Standard Operating Procedures for Risk-Based Monitoring of Clinical Trials

The information you need to adapt your monitoring plan to changing times.

Learn More Here
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Data

Footer Logo

300 N. Washington St., Suite 200, Falls Church, VA 22046, USA

Phone 617.948.5100 – Toll free 866.219.3440

Copyright © 2023. All Rights Reserved. Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing