Lupron® class action settlement to help underwrite collaborative, national studies
Newswise — Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) will launch a new multi-million dollar grant award program focused on prostate cancer research. It will be administered in collaboration with the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF).
Judge Richard G. Stearns of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts awarded DF/HCC approximately $11.7 million in a cy pres ("near as possible") distribution of unclaimed funds from the settlement of a nationwide class action involving the marketing of the cancer drug Lupron(R). Judge Stearns made the award to DF/HCC after reviewing a number of proposals solicited from class members and the public.
The DF/HCC grant program will emphasize large-scale research collaborations on a national level and smaller-scale innovative pilot projects as well as research conducted by promising young investigators and talented graduate students. The goal is to catalyze innovative and collaborative research that will translate to meaningful clinical advances for prostate cancer patients and others.
"It is our vision that this program will further our scientific and clinical understanding of prostate cancer, lead to better and new treatments, and provide critical funds to young investigators to help them develop into the next generation of prostate cancer researchers," said Philip Kantoff, M.D, director of DF/HCC prostate cancer program. Under the direction of Kantoff, who also leads the prostate cancer program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the A. David Mazzone Awards Program will primarily fund research in the causes of prostate cancer as well as research in other diseases, like precocious puberty, for which Lupron has proven an effective treatment. The program leverages existing DF/HCC infrastructure and funding mechanisms, as well as a longstanding, collaborative relationship with PCF. DF/HCC and PCF will each administer research funds through their respective competitive grant programs. A call for applications is expected to occur in early 2011.
Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) is the largest comprehensive cancer center in the country, bringing together the cancer research efforts of seven Harvard or Harvard-affiliated institutions: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Children's Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and Massachusetts General Hospital. Funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute, DF/HCC consists of more than 1,000 researchers with a singular goal -- to find new and innovative ways to combat cancer.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation is the world’s largest philanthropic source of support for accelerating the world's most promising research for discovering better treatments and cures for prostate cancer. Founded in 1993, the PCF has raised more than $400 million and provided funding to more than 1,500 researchers at nearly 200 institutions worldwide. More information about PCF can be found at www.pcf.org.
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