Eli Lilly and Company Pledges $12.5 Million to Accelerate Cancer Clinical Research
April 13 2005 - 9:01AM
PR Newswire (US)
Eli Lilly and Company Pledges $12.5 Million to Accelerate Cancer
Clinical Research Lilly's Commitment to Damon Runyon Cancer
Research Foundation now totals $27.5 million INDIANAPOLIS, April 13
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Eli Lilly and Company has committed $12.5
million to the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation as part of
an effort to bring the brightest young medical and scientific minds
to the field of cancer clinical research. The contribution is aimed
at enhancing the pace and progress of cancer research and comes on
the heels of an American Cancer Society report that states cancer
is now the leading cause of death in Americans under the age of
85.(1) "As someone who has devoted his medical career to drug
research and discovery, I'm alarmed by the steady decline of
trained physician scientists pursuing clinical research," said
Richard Gaynor, MD, Vice President of Cancer Research at Eli Lilly.
"Unfortunately, cancer is a growing health problem, and we need
physician scientists working on novel solutions to make further
progress in this important research area. This grant helps us train
the right people to do that." The number of physicians engaged in
clinical research -- the research that transforms laboratory
advances into treatment realities -- has dropped significantly over
the past two decades, according to Dale F. Frey, Chairman of the
Board, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. Frey said that
young physicians who would like to pursue a career in clinical
research often find themselves faced with overwhelming debt from
medical school. Consequently they choose to go into patient
practice, as fewer institutions are able to commit the necessary
funds to train young physicians in clinical investigation. "If we
consider the fact the there are fewer researchers in a time when
our general population continues to age and cancer rates are
rising, we're left facing a tremendous gap in the development of
future researchers who can find answers for patients who
desperately need them," said Frey. The Clinical Investigator Award
addresses this alarming issue. Each year, an independent judging
panel, consisting of some of the most world-renowned oncologists
selects five young awardees, each receiving a five-year $1 million
grant. The grant includes payment of up to $100,000 in medical
school debt, an annual salary, research funding and a stipend for
the recipient's mentor. Ultimately, the award enables junior
physicians to devote about 80 percent of their time to research,
instead of 10 to 20 percent. The awards program began in 2000 when
Lilly pledged $15 million over five years to the Damon Runyon
Cancer Research Foundation. Since then, 24 junior physicians from
around the country have been presented awards. The awards program
has already led to important research findings. For example,
William Sellers, M.D., assistant professor of oncology at the
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is an award recipient who helped
discover the genetic mutation that explains why certain patients
with lung cancer respond to Iressa, while others do not. This
finding was described by the medical community as a major advance
in the burgeoning field of "personalized" cancer treatment.
"Lilly's $27.5 million donation to the foundation is a compelling
example of what innovative partners can achieve and it sends an
important message to young clinical researchers that providing
answers to waiting patients is the first order of business," said
Frey. About Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Founded in
1946, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation focuses on
identifying and encouraging extraordinary young scientists to
commit themselves to cancer research. The Foundation is dedicated
to identifying generations of truly innovative investigators in
cancer research - scientists that approach questions from totally
new directions, challenge existing dogma, and think "outside the
box." To date, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has
invested over $170 million in cancer research, supporting
approximately 3,000 of the most gifted scientists in the nation. It
is currently funding 190 investigators. Over the past 59 years,
scientists initially identified and supported by the Foundation
have been instrumental in improving the understanding of cancer in
its many forms and developing new approaches to prevention,
diagnosis and treatment. Damon Runyon scientists and
physician-scientists, in leadership roles in the nation's major
research institutions and cancer centers, have made breakthrough
discoveries that have and will continue to save countless lives.
About Eli Lilly and Company Lilly, a leading innovation-driven
corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of first-in-class
and best-in-class pharmaceutical products by applying the latest
research from its own worldwide laboratories and from
collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered
in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers -- through medicines
and information -- for some of the world's most urgent medical
needs. Additional information about Lilly is available at
http://www.lilly.com/. O-LLY (1) Cancer Facts and Figures: 2005;
American Cancer Society, Web site, http://www.cancer.org/, accessed
April 2005 (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031219/LLYLOGO )
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031219/LLYLOGO DATASOURCE:
Eli Lilly and Company CONTACT: Gregory L. Clarke of Eli Lilly and
Company, +1-317-276-5222, pager: +1-877-892-7864, or Email:
Copyright