SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 29 The Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI) today announced the appointment of Steven W. Young to the position of president. In this role, Young will develop organizational strategy and provide leadership, vision, and direction. Tony Addario, formerly the President of ALCMI, has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer.
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"Mr. Young has exceptional experience in establishing and directing disease-centric pre-clinical and clinical discovery, and drug development models in collaboration with investigators in the academic, community and biopharmaceutical settings," said Addario. "His appointment represents precisely the kind of opportunity to jumpstart research that led us to establish the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (BJALCF) in 2006 and ALCMI in 2008."
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Young has nearly 20 years experience in laboratory and clinical research and most recently served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC), founded by myeloma patient Kathy Giusti. Prior to his position with the MMRC, Young directed the development and successful launches of several clinical research for-profit business models and was the administrative director of NIH-funded General Clinical Research Centers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Cornell University College of Medicine.
"There has been little to no movement in the survival rate of Lung Cancer in the last half century," said David Jablons, M.D., University of California, San Francisco, and co-founder of BJALCF. "Everyone will say I'm the ultimate optimist, but I really do think that in some finite period in our lifetime, especially now with ALCMI, we will see Lung Cancer, if not completely eradicated, then dramatically changed in its impact on life."
BJALCF has committed to identifying startup funding for its translational-focused sister organization, ALCMI (pronounced "alchemy"). The goal of ALCMI is to significantly improve Lung Cancer patient outcomes and survival. ALCMI accomplishes this mission by directly facilitating scientific efforts to better characterize this complex and virtually fatal disease and thus accelerate the development of new, targeted therapies that will lead to treatments tailored to the individual Lung Cancer patient. To this end, ALCMI will work with its partners and supporters to establish a centralized, high-quality tissue/data bank, with investigators subsequently utilizing the resultant findings in ALCMI clinical trials to screen and enrich for patients who have the best chance to positively respond to the study drugs.
"Grateful to be in remission, I spend most of my time trying to change the way Lung Cancer is diagnosed, researched, and treated," said Bonnie J. Addario, Lung Cancer survivor and founder and president of BJALCF. "Having Steven join our team is going to take us to the next level and beyond in accomplishing our goals and ultimately increasing the survival rate for Lung Cancer."
Lung Cancer Facts
According to National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates, there will be over 215,000 new Lung Cancer cases. More than 160,000 people -- smokers, former smokers, and non-smokers -- will die of Lung Cancer in the U.S. in 2008. That is more people than the combined total of the next four biggest cancer killers: colon cancer (49,960 deaths), breast cancer (40,930 deaths), pancreatic cancer (34,290 deaths), and prostate cancer (28,660 deaths).
The overall 5-year relative survival rate of Lung Cancer for 1996-2004 from 17 SEER (Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results) geographic areas was 15.2%. Based on rates from 2003-2005, 1 out of 14 men and women will be diagnosed with cancer of the lung and bronchus during his or her lifetime.
Worldwide, an estimated 1.5 million new cases were expected in 2007, accounting for 12% of total cancer diagnoses. Lung Cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and the second leading cause of cancer death in women, with about 975,000 men and 376,000 women projected to die from it in 2007.
About ALCMI
Lung Cancer survivor Bonnie J. Addario established the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI) in 2008 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that accelerates the discovery, development, and delivery of new and more effective diagnostic and treatment options for patients in need. The goal of ALCMI is to significantly improve Lung Cancer patient outcomes and survival. This will be accomplished by driving the rapid development and study of new, targeted therapies that will lead to individualized therapies for Lung Cancer patients.
About Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (BJALCF)
BJALCF is one of the nation's largest philanthropies devoted exclusively to eradicating Lung Cancer through research, early detection, education, prevention, and treatment. The Foundation works with a diverse group of physicians, organizations, individuals, and survivors to identify solutions and make timely and meaningful change. BJALCF was established in 2006 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and has raised over $3 million for Lung Cancer. For more information, please visit: www.lungcancerfoundation.org.
SOURCE Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation
