Safeway Raises $18.2 Million for Breast Cancer Research

November 11, 2009 12:00 PM EST

PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) announced today the company raised $18.2 million for breast cancer research and prevention programs during the company's annual October fundraising campaign. The funds will be donated to some of the most respected cancer centers in North America dedicated to breast cancer research, diagnosis and screening.

"We are grateful to our customers who, in a challenging economic climate, continue to demonstrate extraordinary generosity," said Larree Renda, Safeway Executive Vice President and Chair of The Safeway Foundation. "The funds raised by our employees will continue to be directed to leading edge research that hold the greatest promise for a cure."

Since 2001, Safeway and the Safeway Foundation have devoted the month of October to raising money for breast cancer research and treatment, an effort that has resulted in more than $78 million donated to the cause. The funds are dedicated to a broad range of research initiatives.

For example, the Safeway Foundation is helping fund the I-SPY TRIAL* in which women with locally advanced breast cancer will receive promising drugs in development that are individually targeted to the biology of each woman's tumor. Researchers will use data from one set of patients' treatment to treat other patients, and thus more quickly eliminate ineffective treatments and drugs and bring effective drugs to patients more quickly. In addition, the I-SPY trial will test the concept of personalized medicine by leveraging the molecular tools that have been developed over the last decade with the potential to identify and test new biomarkers as well. I-SPY is managed by a consortium comprised of researchers from the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and a large number of partners from major pharmaceutical companies, leading academic medical centers, non-profit and patient advocacy groups.

Another Safeway Foundation-funded research initiative joins researchers from the University of California's celebrated medical centers -- UC San Francisco, UC Davis, UC Los Angeles, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine. Also participating in the collaboration are the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, the Northern California Cancer Center, Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative, the National Cancer Institute's BIG Health Consortium, and the Center for Medical Technology Policy. The project, the ATHENA Breast Health Network, looks to improve the course of care for the 150,000 initial participants by designing and testing new approaches to research, technology and health care delivery. The participants will be screened for breast cancer and followed for years to come through the five UC medical centers. Grants from The Safeway Foundation and the University of California funded this ambitious project.

*Investigation of Serial Studies to Predict Your Therapeutic Response with Imaging And moLecular Analysis

Safeway is a corporate leader in supporting cancer causes. To date, the company has raised nearly $133 million for breast cancer and prostate cancer research and treatment. The services and outreach made possible by these funds include mobile mammography units that give access to early detection for low-income women and those in remote areas, low-cost prostate cancer screening tests, education and prevention information in various languages, and a web site - www.BreastCancerTrials.org - that helps breast cancer patients find clinical trials for new experimental treatments.

Cancer research is one of many important causes supported by Safeway and The Safeway Foundation. In total, Safeway supports a broad range of charitable and community programs and in 2008 donated more than $248 million to causes such as education, hunger relief and programs focused on assisting people with disabilities.

ABOUT SAFEWAY www.Safeway.com

Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 50 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. The company operates 1,730 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $44.1 billion in 2008. The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.

    Source: Safeway Inc.

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