The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Data at ASH Provides Glimpse into the Future of Blood Cancer Treatment

New data from LLS first-of-its-kind master clinical trials — Beat AML® and Pediatric Acute Leukemia (PedAL) — show promise for hard-to-treat leukemias

Leaders available to provide independent perspectives on health equity, artificial intelligence in healthcare, and the latest clinically relevant findings

RYE BROOK, N.Y., Nov. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) will present new data from its Beat AML® Master Clinical Trial and Pediatric Acute Leukemia (PedAL) Master Clinical Trial at the 66th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition.

The findings from LLS’s convened master clinical trials show great progress and are helping shape the treatment landscape for acute leukemias. Updated results show that more than half of a group of children with relapsed acute leukemias achieved remission after receiving a combination of treatments. Additional data indicate that IDH inhibitors as single agent or in combination with low-intensity therapies may be a viable treatment option for older adults with acute leukemias.

LLS will also support its more than 150 funded researchers, as well as more than a dozen current and former LLS Therapy Acceleration Program® (TAP) biotech company partners, who will present the latest updates from their ongoing clinical trials.

“For 75 years, LLS has funded physician-scientists and researchers who take risks, think big and test bold ideas,” says Lee Greenberger, Ph.D., LLS’s Chief Scientific Officer. “Our strategic investments have helped advance more than 70% of blood cancer treatments approved by the FDA over the past 20 years and I am encouraged to see how the latest data at ASH will lead to remarkable advances for patients.”

Health equity is also a major focus of findings from several investigators funded through the LLS Equity in Access and IMPACT grant programs, which:

• Show that there’s significant underrepresentation of women and racial and ethnic minorities in clinical trial enrollment
• Provide patient recommendations on how to address disparities in people living with multiple myeloma
• Share insights on how to address barriers to opening clinical trials in a community-oncology setting
• Demonstrate the disparities in access to care and services depending on the type of insurance coverage.

“LLS has an incredible track record of success across its research, health equity, patient advocacy, and education and support services,” says E. Anders Kolb, M.D., The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s President and CEO. “The breadth of research we support every year at ASH reinforces our commitment to improve and extend the lives of blood cancer patients and accelerate progress.”

Gwen Nichols, M.D., LLS’s Chief Medical Officer, will join a panel at the Annual ASH Clinicians in Practice luncheon on December 8, 2024, focused on the future of artificial intelligence in blood cancer.

Drs. Kolb, Nichols and Greenberger are available to provide perspectives on pivotal data presented at ASH, including the promise of menin inhibitors to change the leukemia treatment landscape.

Following is an overview of compelling data from LLS that will be presented at ASH:

Reshaping How Adults with Acute Myeloid Leukemia are Treated

Nearly 1,600 patients with AML have received genomic screening within seven days of diagnosis and more than 500 have enrolled in one of the many Beat AML® precision treatment subtrials, which so far have targeted 15 distinct types of AML.

Patients enrolled in Beat AML have achieved improved survival and better quality of life compared to patients receiving standard-of-care chemotherapy.

Beat AML also recently opened its first clinical subtrial to investigate the safety and efficacy of lomonitinib (ZE46-0134) in patients with FLT3-mutated relapsed or refractory AML in partnership with Eilean Therapeutics.

These new findings from Beat AML subtrials will be presented at ASH:

LLS Executive Research Strategy Lead Ashley Yocum, Ph.D., is available to discuss Beat AML findings.

Revolutionizing the Treatment and Care of Children with Blood Cancer

LLS’s PedAL is fundamentally revolutionizing how children with pediatric leukemia are being treated while building a foundation that addresses major roadblocks to care.

LLS will present updated findings from the PedAL Screening Trial (APAL2020SC), which is actively enrolling in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This LLS-convened and led screening trial assesses individual clinical and biological characteristics that can inform a family’s choice of standard treatment or enrolling in a clinical trial.

In addition to the PedAL Screening Trial, a treatment trial is open across 74 international sites. LLS anticipates the opening of a second PedAL global treatment trial soon.

Chief Medical Officer Gwen Nichols, M.D., is available to provide updates on LLS PedAL and provide perspective on important clinical data coming out of ASH.

Driving the Latest Blood Cancer Developments Through Research Funding

Blood cancer physician-scientists and researchers are transforming the way we treat this disease, but they cannot do this groundbreaking work alone. LLS is helping to lead this charge by funding some of the most innovative research projects around the world focused on bringing blood cancer patients much needed new treatments.

LLS currently provides more than $300 million in academic biomedical research grants to investigators across 16 countries and 30 U.S. states to accelerate how we treat all blood cancers. LLS recently announced its latest round of multi-year grants, which includes research into the development of leukemia in children with Down syndrome.

Here are some of the latest research advances across a variety of blood cancers that several LLS grantees will present at ASH:

Addressing Healthcare Disparities Means a Better Future for Everyone with Blood Cancer

LLS believes every blood cancer patient and survivor should be able to access the care they need when they need it. LLS is addressing healthcare disparities to ensure everyone has a better future through three signature programs:

• The Equity in Access Research Program, which provides funding for health services research that seeks to uncover and ultimately address the social, economic, and environmental disadvantages that stand in the way of patients with and survivors of a blood cancer accessing high-quality cancer care and services.
• Influential Medicine Providing Access to Clinical Trials (IMPACT) provides funding to major cancer centers around the U.S. to collaborate with community-based hospitals and clinics to bring quality blood cancer clinical trials significantly closer to underrepresented patients.
• Underrepresented Minority Medical Student (URM) Research programs, launched in 2023, aim to provide medical students from groups underrepresented in biomedical science the opportunity to participate in blood cancer research and benefit from mentorship that the program also provides. The URM program’s first grantee, Jennifer Lewis, is a co-author on an abstract that has developed a new CAR-T product that shows early promise in treating acute myeloid leukemia.

LLS proudly and gratefully acknowledges the leadership support of Royalty Pharma and the following companies for their support of the Equity in Access Research Program and other initiatives focused on reducing healthcare disparities in blood cancer care and treatment: AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb.

Senior Vice President of Education Services & Health Research Elisa Weiss, Ph.D., is available to provide perspective on health equity research presented at ASH.

Taking Risks to Accelerate the Development of Innovative Blood Cancer Therapies

LLS TAP provides funding to biotech companies to accelerate the development of innovative blood cancer treatments with the promise of changing the standard of care for blood cancer. As a strategic venture philanthropy program, LLS TAP can invest in research that venture capitalists find too risky.

Since 2017, five LLS TAP-supported therapies have been approved by the FDA or included in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. Here are some of the latest research advances across a variety of blood cancers that several LLS TAP company partners will showcase at ASH:

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society® (LLS) is the global leader in the fight against blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure blood cancer and improve the quality of life of all patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Rye Brook, NY, LLS has regions throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org. Patients should contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.

For additional information, visit lls.org/lls-newsnetwork. Follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.

About the Beat AML® Master Clinical Trial

The Beat AML® Master Clinical Trial is the first collaborative precision medicine clinical trial in a blood cancer. Launched by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in 2016 and focused on newly diagnosed AML patients aged 60 or older, the trial uses advanced genomic technology to match patients to the most promising targeted treatment based on their unique genetic mutations.

The trial tests multiple therapies in multiple study arms simultaneously under a “master trial” protocol that not only has the power to bring new therapies to AML patients faster, but also has the potential to stand as a model for future clinical trials. The trial has already generated strong results, showing superior survival rates and better quality of life when genomic analysis is used to match patients to targeted therapies. For more information, www.lls.org/beataml.

About LLS PedAL

As part of LLS’s Dare to Dream Project, the Pediatric Acute Leukemia Master Trial (PedAL) is the first-of-its-kind global master clinical trial for pediatric acute leukemia patients that will fundamentally change how children are treated. Prior to enrolling in therapeutic trials, patients enroll in the PedAL Screening Trial (APAL2020SC) to identify the unique tumor biology of each child’s cancer and help them to match with the most promising treatment. The Screening Trial is currently open at multiple sites in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. At this time, one PedAL therapeutic trial is open and actively enrolling patients in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, with more therapeutic trials planned for global execution. To learn more about PedAL, visit lls.org/dare-to-dream.

PedAL would not be possible without the support of major foundation donors such as Gateway for Cancer Research, which pledged $1.5 million over three years to support genomic sequencing and flow cytometry, which is being conducted through the PedAL screening trial, and the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation, which has committed $1.25 million over five years to support the PedAL Principal Investigators Fellowship Program, whose members are leading the PedAL therapeutic trials.

About Therapy Acceleration Program® (LLS TAP)

LLS TAP is a strategic venture philanthropy initiative that seeks to accelerate the development of innovative blood cancer therapeutics and change the standard of care. LLS TAP collaborates with biotech companies to support the development of novel platforms, first-in-class assets addressing unmet medical needs, emerging patient populations and even rare blood cancers. LLS TAP accepts funding applications on a rolling basis from companies with innovative science that has a high potential to improve patient lives. To learn more, visit www.lls.org/tap.

Media Contact:

Ryan McDonald,

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Ryan.McDonald@lls.org

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SOURCE The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS)