Three projects that are researching different approaches to addressing follicular lymphoma (FL) are about to get a boost in funds thanks to $2.25 million in award funding from an alliance of the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation (FLF), The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), and the Institute for Follicular Lymphoma Innovation (IFLI), which have partnered in their “Research United to Cure FL” initiative. The awards were announced in a recent LLS news release.1
As reported, “Research United to CURE Follicular Lymphoma combines the shared mission and efforts of three leading blood cancer foundations to support and drive scientific innovation and accelerate clinical trials in FL, bringing more effective therapies and, ultimately, a cure for FL closer to reality.”
Each of these groundbreaking research initiatives holds immense potential to transform the treatment landscape.—Lee Greenberger, PhD, chief scientific officer of Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Mitchell Smith, MD, who is chief medical officer of the FLF, said, “By uniting our expertise and resources, we can enhance our research efforts and accelerate the development of new treatments. This powerful alliance brings us one step closer to finding a cure.”
Lee Greenberger, PhD, chief scientific officer of LLS, added, “We are incredibly excited about the innovative projects we’ve funded. Each of these groundbreaking research initiatives holds immense potential to transform the treatment landscape.”
Michel Azoulay, MD, who is chief medical officer of the IFLI, echoed Greenberger’s sentiments, adding, “We are thrilled to unite with FLF and LLS to CURE-FL and are confident that this partnership will significantly accelerate innovative research. Our aim is to provide catalytic capital to develop new technology approaches and a Path to a Cure for patients suffering from follicular lymphoma.”
According to the release, the first project, from Mark Murakami, MD, and other researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is analyzing data from patients in several clinical trials undergoing treatment with bispecific antibodies that target the lymphoma and surrounding cells. The research aims to study resistance patterns among lymphoma cells and potentially expose vulnerabilities within the cells that can be exploited by novel combination treatments.
A second project, conducted by Steven Park, MD, and his team at Atrium Wake Forest Levine Cancer, is looking at a targeted blood x0cancer strategy that focuses both on the use of high-precision, targeted nanoparticles designed to deliver drugs only to the cancer and on the design of specific protein-degrading chimeric molecules (PROTACs) that target a cancer-specific protein. They will use mantle cell lymphoma and FL as their test models in the attempt to improve drug potency and precision.
Philippe Armand, MD, and his team of researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will be awarded funds for their project, which is investigating the efficacy of a bispecific antibody as a first-line treatment for FL patients. The investigators aim to identify biomarkers to predict how patients will respond to and tolerate bispecific antibody treatment in the absence of first-line chemotherapy and its toxic side effects.
Reference
- Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Blood cancer foundations award $2.25 million for ‘Research United to Cure Follicular Lymphoma.’ News release. August 7, 2024. Accessed August 14, 2024. www.lls.org/news/blood-cancer-founda tions-award-225-million-research-united-cure-follicular-lymphoma
