Lung Cancer Research Foundation Announces New Research Collaboration with Bayer Pharmaceuticals

Groups Develop Request for Proposals for Research Grants Focused on Lung Cancers Harboring HER2 Mutations and/or Other HER2 Alterations

NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) is pleased to announce its collaboration with Bayer Pharmaceuticals to fund two research grants focused on innovative strategies to advance understanding and management of lung cancers harboring HER2 mutations and/or other HER2 alterations.

This collaboration seeks to address important mechanistic questions and developmental therapeutics across the care continuum for HER2-mutant NSCLC, and has the potential to improve patient outcomes.

"LCRF is delighted to collaborate with Bayer to identify and support outstanding lung cancer research projects that will help develop treatments for this specific set of lung cancers," says Kathryn O'Donnell, PhD, LCRF Scientific Advisory Board chair. "Expanding the treatment options available to patients affected by HER2 mutations or alterations is an important and exciting area in lung cancer research."

"We are delighted to encourage and support groundbreaking research via this new LCRF initiative. This collaboration underscores our ongoing commitment to patients living with lung cancer, and our unwavering drive to advance precision oncology in disease areas with the highest unmet needs," said Abdelali Majdi, MD, Head of Global Medical Affairs Precision Oncology & Pipeline at Bayer's Pharmaceuticals Division.

Lung cancer is responsible for more deaths worldwide than any other cancer, accounting for an estimated 130,180 deaths annually in the United States alone.¹ Globally, there are approximately 1.8 million new cases of lung cancer every year and over 1.6 million deaths. ² The last ten to fifteen years have seen accelerated clinical trials and regulatory approvals of targeted therapies for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in part due to advances in molecular profiling of tumors.

Many of these targeted therapies are directed against oncogenic drivers. The HER family of tyrosine kinases include HER1 (epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR] or ERBB1), HER2 (HER2/neu or ERBB2), HER3, and HER4. EGFR mutations were one of the first oncogenic drivers that were successfully targeted with the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Despite substantial progress in this area, available treatments are generally not curative, and resistance invariably develops. Twenty years ago, HER2 mutations were also identified as potential oncogenic drivers in lung cancer. Activating mutations of HER2 (mostly exon 20 insertions, such as HER2 YVMA) occur in up to 4% of NSCLC. Until recently, developing effective HER2-targeted therapies for lung cancer has been a challenge.

Immunotherapeutic strategies have not been successful in the treatment of lung cancers with genomic alterations such as HER2 mutations. It is of vital importance that there is a better understanding of the mechanism of tumor response and resistance. Moreover, given that therapeutic options available to date are not curative, there is a need for novel approaches to treat HER2-mutant lung cancers.

The LCRF | Bayer Lung Cancer Research Award will focus on the science behind HER2 alterations as oncogenic drivers of malignancy and/or the development of novel therapeutic approaches for patients with tumors harboring HER2 mutations and/or other HER2 alterations. To be notified when the Request for Proposals is open for submissions, go to LCRF.org/HER2-RFP.

To learn more about LCRF and its grants program, visit www.lcrf.org.

About the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF)

The Lung Cancer Research Foundation^® (LCRF) is the leading nonprofit organization focused on funding innovative, high-reward research with the potential to extend survival and improve quality of life for people with lung cancer. LCRF's mission is to improve lung cancer outcomes by funding research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of lung cancer. To date, LCRF has funded 419 research grants, totaling nearly $44 million, the highest amount provided by a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding lung cancer research. For more information, visit lcrf.org.

Contact:
Sheila Sullivan
Sr. Director, Marketing & Communications, LCRF
[email protected]

¹ American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2022. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2022

² Babar L, Modi P, Anjum F. Lung Cancer Screening. [Updated 2023 Jul 24]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537283/ Accessed: June 2024.

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SOURCE Lung Cancer Research Foundation