By the Numbers
ACGT’s Top Researchers and Physicians Discuss the Success of
Gene and Cell Therapy
Co-founder and President Barbara Netter thanks donors for supporting
ground-breaking and life-saving research
New York, NY and Stamford, CT – (October 16, 2013) – More than 100
prominent donors, scientists, biotech representatives, and physicians
attended Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy’s “Achieving Cancer
Remission with Cell and Gene Therapies” Tuesday night at the Harvard
Club of New York City, 35 W. 44th Street.
The evening highlighted recent tremendous strides made in combating
cancer with cell and gene therapy treatments, and served as appreciation
for donors who have committed time and funds to furthering research and
clinical trials across the nation.
“Our donors have allowed top scientific minds to explore this new and
promising avenue of cancer treatment, and their philanthropy is directly
linked to the lives saved so far,” said Barbara Netter, who co-founded
Stamford-based ACGT in 2001 alongside her husband, Edward. Mrs.
Netter stressed that much additional research needs to be funded in order
to achieve the goal of the fully successful treatment of all types of cancer.
To further that goal, Mrs. Netter has assumed the mantle of President of
ACGT to chart a strategic course for the organization’s continued success.
Guests were treated to an elegant reception at the Harvard Club, followed
by a salutation from host Dr. Savio Woo. Dr. Woo – Chairman of ACGT’s
Scientific Advisory Council and Professor of Hematology and Oncology at
the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York
City – was instrumental in ACGT’s founding over a decade ago. Also in
attendance was Connie Burnett-West, a cancer survivor who overcame a
critical case lung cancer with gene and cell therapy treatment.
“Surgery and radiation weren’t options, and I was told I had limited hope for
recovery,” Burnett-West said. “But after a sixth-month course of gene
therapy, I’ve been in remission for over 10 years. I could not have imagined
a treatment so easy and effective.”
The evening’s capstone was a presentation from three of ACGT’s
esteemed and award winning Research Fellows. Carl H. June (M.D.,
University of Pennsylvania), Laurence Cooper (M.D., Ph.D., MD Anderson
Cancer Center) and Michel Sadelain (M.D., Ph.D., Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center) spoke of the breakthroughs and growing
momentum that gene and cell therapy has achieved with the support of
ACGT.
23,200,000: The number
of dollars awarded for ACGT
endeavors. Of that, $11.3 million
has gone toward discovery and
research, and $11.9 million has
gone toward translation into
treatments.
100: The percent of donations
that go directly toward research
endeavors. Funding for
administrative and fundraising
costs is provided separately.
17: The number of funded
research projects that have been
approved for human clinical trials;
11 trials have started. These
trials provide scientists and
patients with the opportunity to
put research into practice – and
save lives.
3: The number of ACGT awardwinning doctors and research
fellows presenting on this
evening’s panel. Carl H. June
M.D. with the University of
Pennsylvania, Laurence Cooper
M.D., Ph.D. with the MD
Anderson Cancer Center, and
Michel Sadelain M.D., Ph.D. with
the Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center, will discuss
recent breakthroughs and
advances in the field of cell and
gene therapies.
1: the number of charitable
organizations in the nation
dedicated exclusively to cell and
gene-based therapies for cancer.
“ACGT has the potential to provide less expensive and less harrowing cancer treatment – and, ultimately,
a cure,” Dr. Carl June said. “And all of ACGT’s life-saving work was funded through philanthropy.”
Moving forward, Barbara Netter noted that ACGT will continue its outstanding commitment to treating all
forms of cancer. Exclusive interviews with Research Fellows are available on ACGT’s YouTube channel.
For interview opportunities with Research Fellows and/or survivors, please contact Kat McKee at
kat@cocommunications.com, or (914) 666-0066. For additional information on the Research Fellows and
Dr. Woo, see the final page of this release.
ACGT is located at 96 Cummings Point Road, Stamford, CT 06902. The foundation can be reached at
(203) 358-8000 or by visiting www.acgtfoundation.com
About Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT)
Established in 2001, ACGT (www.acgtfoundation.org) is the nation’s only not-for-profit exclusively
dedicated to cancer cell and gene therapy treatments for all types of cancer. One-hundred percent of
contributions go directly to research. ACGT, which provides grants t o leading scientists in the U.S. and
Canada, has funded 42 grants since its founding in 2001 by Barbara Netter and her late husband,
Edward, to conduct and accelerate critically needed innovative research for all types of cancer.
ACGT’s Scientific Advisory Council is comprised of 16 of the nation’s most pre-eminent physicians and
researchers in cell and gene therapy, who thoroughly review all grants. Since its inception ACGT has
awarded 27 grants to Young Investigators and 15 grants to Clinical Investigators, totaling $24.2 million
in funding. Barbara Netter, as President, together with other members of the Board of Directors, are
fully committed to ACGT’s continued support of this critically needed innovative research.
###
Press Contact:
Kat McKee / Kevin Zawacki
Co-Communications
914-666-0066
kat@cocommunications.com / kzawacki@cocommunications.com
Photo credit: Elaine Ubiña / www.fairfieldcountylook.com
Alliance for Cell Gene Therapy Foundation (ACGT) hosted a panel event, “Achieving Cancer
Remission with Cell and Gene Therapies,” at the Harvard Club in Manhattan on Tuesday,
October 15, 2013. Pictured (L to R): Charles Hallac, (Scarsdale, NY); Barbara Netter, President
& Founder, ACGT Foundation (Stamford, CT); Jeffrey Keil, Chairman of the Executive
Committee, ACGT Foundation (New York, NY).
Photo credit: Elaine Ubiña / www.fairfieldcountylook.com
Alliance for Cell Gene Therapy Foundation (ACGT) hosted a panel event, “Achieving Cancer
Remission with Cell and Gene Therapies,” at the Harvard Club in Manhattan on Tuesday,
October 15, 2013. Pictured (L to R): Laurence Cooper, MD, PhD, of MD Anderson Center
(Houston, Texas); Margaret C. Cianci, MBA, Executive Director (Stamford, CT): Savio L. C.
Woo, PhD, of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and Chair, ACGT Scientific Advisory Council (New
York, NY); Barbara Netter, President & Founder, ACGT Foundation (Stamford, CT); Carl H.
June, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA): Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD, of
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY).
Panelists
Savio L.C. Woo, PhD – Panel Host
Savio L.C. Woo, PhD, Founding Chair of ACGT Scientific Advisory Council.
Chairman, ACGT Scientific Advisory Council Professor of Hematology and Oncology
Tisch Cancer Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY Dr. Woo is an
expert in molecular human genetics, and his pioneering work on gene therapy for
genetic disorders and cancer is internationally recognized. He served as a regular
member on the Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee of the US
Food and Drug Administration, and is a Past President of the American Society for
Gene and Cell Therapy.
Laurence Cooper, MD, PhD – Panelist, Research Fellow
Laurence Cooper, MD, PhD, ACGT Research Fellow, Section Chief, Cell Therapy
Children’s Cancer Hospital, Division of Pediatrics, Department of Immunology
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX and a member of the
Board of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, is senior investigator on a
type of immunotherapy that uses a new approach to gene therapy. He is chief of
pediatric bone marrow transplantation and working to improve the therapeutic
potential of this procedure by infusing genetically modified T cells reprogrammed to
target malignancies. He has undertaken clinical trials in humans and in companion
dogs to help demonstrate the potential of T cells to eradicate cancer.
Carl H. June, MD - Panelist
Carl H. June, MD, ACGT Research Fellow, Richard W. Vague Professor in
Immunotherapy Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Director
Translational Research Program Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Dr. June and his team are making
great strides in the treatment of advanced CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia). The
groundbreaking clinical trial, initially funded by ACGT, uses genetically modified
versions of the patient’s own T cells, and has shown remission for more than a year
in a group of patients, many of whom are in complete remission. The treatment,
which received international recognition, will next be tested on patients with ovarian
and pancreatic cancer.
Michel Sadelain, M.D., PhD. - Panelist
Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD, ACGT Research Fellow, Director, Center for Cell
Engineering Professor, Molecular Pharmacology & Chemistry Program Professor,
Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center,
New York, NY and Vice President of the American Society of Gene and Cell
Therapy, led the groundbreaking immunotherapy clinical trial for acute lymphoblastic
leukemia (ALL), a rapidly progressing form of blood cancer. All five of the patients
with relapsed B cell ALL who have received the new therapy – known as targeted
immunotherapy – have gone into complete, molecular remission, with no detectable
cancer cells. His lab has pioneered the design of multiple chimeric antigen receptors
(CARs) that are now entering the clinic.