ASH 2012

Advances in treatments for haematologic malignancies from the Sarah Cannon Research Institute presented at ASH 2012 (5/5)

Dr Ian Flinn – Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Nashville, USA



Can you give an overview of The Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville?

We think there are many benefits of working together with the Sarah Cannon Research Institute at sites throughout the US that are focussed on blood cancer as well as in the UK. We have a reputation, Sarah Cannon Research Institute has a reputation for doing high quality rapid trials, so opening studies for accrual, getting them accrued and getting the answers very quickly. It’s something that’s a matter of pride for us and we think that this is an advantage for many people. It’s an advantage for patients, clearly, getting access to these new molecules that we’ve been working on with the pharmaceutical industry. It’s an advantage for patients, for sure. It’s an advantage for investigators because having access to that quickly, in the world we live in it’s about speed and so that makes the difference sometimes about whether one investigator is able to be part of a trial or not. I think it’s a good model for the pharmaceutical industry as well because of course they are where we get these molecules but having access to a network of dedicated investigators in the blood cancers to get these molecules to patients as quickly as possible, if it cuts down six months or it cuts down a year in development time, that’s a win for everybody. That’s a win for the patients, it’s a win for the investigators and that’s a win for the industry partner.